Page:International Library of Technology, Volume 89.djvu/16



1. Origin of the Word Bank.—Authorities differ as to the origin of the word bank, but it is generally believed to be derived from the Italian word monte. A definition of this word given in an Italian dictionary in 1659 was "a standing bank or mount of money." When the Germans were in control of a large part of Italy, their word banck, the equivalent for monte, came into use and was Italianized into banco. In England, the word banck was frequently used to signify a mass of money or a common fund formed by the contributions of a number of persons, and from the earliest history of banks, the word bank has been understood to mean an aggregation of capital.

2. Development of Banking.—It is said by some authorities that the Athenian bankers invented bill discounting; that the Roman bankers invented the banking business; and that bank notes were invented in China. Whether these are facts or not, it is true that since the early history of man some banking functions have always been exercised by wealthy persons, who were the money changers or dealers, the money lenders, and the bill discounters of their time. Some were both merchants and bankers and others only bankers. In some cases, they employed only their own capital; and in others they received deposits of money, for the use of which they paid interest. They assisted, much as bankers do today, in the commercial development of their countries, and loaned money for the prosecution of the many wars of their times. The business of banking experienced a gradual

117—2