Banking has a long tradition. In Mesopotamia bankers kept gold and silver for people and lent it to others. Ancient Rome and Greece had similar banking systems to the ones we have today.
During the Middle Ages Italy was the centre of European banking. Jewish traders emerged as the first bankers and became cery successful businessen. Florence and Venice became know as two cities in which many people earned their money through banking. The Medici family dominated Florence for over two centuries and set up Europe's largest bank in 15 th century.