BG should handle the bass pressure with the steep banks. As long as there is some areas for them to spawn which can be a challenge if all you have are steep banks. With some structure and cover for the young to hide, your BG should hold their number simple because they spawn in such huge numbers!
As far as what you can do to help forage fish survive more in your pond, the idea bobad has certainly may work, but I have no experience with it. Providing cover for your forage fish is probably the biggest thing you can do. That and don't try to pack too many hungry mouths into one pond. That will stress your forage fish beyond their ability to keep up through reproduction...
