The shift from a reliance on hunting and gathering of foods to agricultural practices, starting sometime after 12,000 BCE, resulted in increased stability of economic relations. Such changes in socio-economic conditions began … See more

Most early religious systems in the ancient Near East, and the secular codes arising from them, did not forbid usury. These societies regarded … See more

The roots of modern banking are traceable to medieval and early Renaissance Italy, to rich northern cities such as Florence, Venice, and Genoa.
Emergence of merchant banks
The original banks were "merchant banks" that Italian grain … See more

By the end of the 16th century and during the 17th, the traditional banking functions of accepting deposits, moneylending, money changing, … See more

Asia
Mesopotamia and Persia
Banking as an archaic activity (or quasi-banking ) is thought to have begun as early as the latter part of the 4th millennium BCE, to the 3rd millennia BCE.
Prior to the reign of See more

Italy
Between 1527 and 1572 a number of important banking family groups arose, such as the Grimaldi, Spinola and Pallavicino families, … See more

The first decade of the 20th century saw the Panic of 1907 in the US, which led to numerous runs on banks and became known as the bankers panic.
Great Depression See more