Banking Explained – Money and Credit
Banks are a riddle wrapped up in an enigma. We all kind of know that they do stuff with money we don't understand, while the last crisis left a feeling of deep mistrust and confusion. We...
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The international banking system is an enigma. There are more than 30,000 different banks worldwide and they hold unbelievable amounts of assets. The top 10 banks alone account for roughly 25 Trillion U.S. Dollars. Today, banking can seem very complex, but originally, the idea was to make life simpler. 11th century Italy was the center of European trading. Merchants from all over the continent met to trade their goods. But there was one problem: too many currencies in circulation. In Pisa, merchants had to deal with seven different types of coins and had to exchange their money constantly. This exchange business, which commonly took place outdoors on benches, is where we get the word "bank" from. >From the word “banco,” Italian for bench. ...
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The international banking system is an enigma. There are more than 30,000 different banks worldwide and they hold unbelievable amounts of assets. The top 10 banks alone account for roughly 25 Trillion U.S. Dollars. Today, banking can seem very complex, but originally, the idea was to make life simpler. 11th century Italy was the center of European trading. Merchants from all over the continent met to trade their goods. But there was one problem: too many currencies in circulation. In Pisa, merchants had to deal with seven different types of coins and had to exchange their money constantly. This exchange business, which commonly took place outdoors on benches, is where we get the word "bank" from. >From the word “banco,” Italian for bench. ...
