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Even earlier is the first bank. At first they were just a safe place in which to store your valuables (basically they were goldsmiths renting out vault space)
by KaiserPro 9y ago
Even earlier is the first bank.
At first they were just a safe place in which to store your valuables (basically they were goldsmiths renting out vault space)
Then someone (I think dutch) realised that most of the time people kept there cash in one place. Which meant that instead of raising money explicitly for lending, they could "double enter" the cash, which meant any deposits to the bank were lent out immediately.
- AnimalMuppet 9y agoI'm not an expert on such things, but I think it was earlier than the Dutch. It was the Italians, in the 1200s.
- madengr 9y agoI thought it was the Knights Templar. You'd deposit your money (with them in Europe) before your pilgrimage, then redeem it later (from them in the Holyland). Kept you from getting robbed along the way. They became pretty savy with banking, and the aristocrats and church did not like that, so killed them all.
- KaiserPro 9y agoAhh, you might be right, it rings a bell