History, Origin, and Definition of Banking

Bank

History Banking in the modern sense of the word can be traced out to medieval and early Renaissance Italy, to the rich cities in the north like Florence, Venice and Genoa. The Bardi and Peruzzi families dominated banking in 14th century Florence, establishing branches in many other parts of European cities. Perhaps the most famous Italian bank was the Medici bank, set up by Giovanni Medici in 1397.The earliest known state deposit bank, Banco di San Giorgio (Bank of St. George), was founded in 1407 at Genoa, Italy.

Origin of the word Bank
The word bank was borrowed in Middle English from Middle French banque, from Old Italian banca, from Old High German banc, bank "bench, counter". Benches were used as desks or exchange counters during the Renaissance by Florentine bankers, who used to make their transactions atop desks covered by green tablecloths

Definition of Bank
The definition of a bank varies from country to country. See the relevant country page (below) for more information.

Under English common law, a banker is defined as a person who carries on the business of banking, which is specified as:

conducting current accounts for his customers
paying cheques drawn on him, and
collecting cheques for his customers.

In most common law jurisdictions there is a Bills of Exchange Act that codifies the law in relation to negotiable instruments, including cheques, and this Act contains a statutory definition of the term banker: banker includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not, who carry on the business of banking' Although this definition seems circular, it is actually functional, because it ensures that the legal basis for bank transactions such as cheques does not depend on how the bank is organised or regulated

Vacancies in: Bank Guide