The 17th and 18th Centuries
By the end of the 16th century and during the 17th, the traditional banking functions of accepting deposits, moneylending, money changing, and transferring funds were combined with the issuance of bank debt that served as a substitute for gold and silver coins.
New banking practices promoted commercial and industrial growth by providing a safe and convenient means of payment and a money supply more responsive to commercial needs, as well as by "discounting" business debt. By the end of the 17th century, banking was also becoming important for the funding requirements of the relatively new and combative European states. This would lead on to government regulations and the first central banks. The success of the new banking techniques and practices in Amsterdam and also the thriving trade city of Antwerp help spread the concepts and ideas to London and helped the developments elsewhere in Europe.
Read more about this topic: History Of Banking
Famous quotes containing the word centuries:
“Out of all those centuries the Greeks can count seven sages at the most, and if anyone looks at them more closely I swear he’ll not find so much as a half-wise man or even a third of a wise man among them.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)