Banking in Italy

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 24. Chapters: Banks of Italy, Banco Ambrosiano, Banca d'Italia, Medici Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Gran Tavola, Lombard banking, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Gondi family, UniCredit, Banca Commerciale Italiana, Bank of Saint George, UBI Banca, Mediobanca, Antonveneta, Hypo Group Alpe Adria, Unipol, Banca Popolare di Milano, Banca IFIS, Banca Intesa, Credito Italiano, Banco Popolare, Capitalia, Mediolanum, Banco di Sardegna, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Sanpaolo IMI, IWBank, Banco Desio, Banca Popolare di Verona, Banca Popolare di Lecco, Interbanca, Banca Monte Parma, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Fineco, Banca Popolare dell'Alto Adige, WeBank, Nuovo Banco Ambrosiano. Excerpt: The Medici Bank (1397¿1494) was a financial institution created by the Medici family in Italy during the 15th century. It was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during its prime. There are some estimates that the Medici family was, for a period of time, the wealthiest family in Europe. Estimating their wealth in today's money is difficult and imprecise, considering that they owned art, land, and gold. With this monetary wealth, the family acquired political power initially in Florence, and later in the wider spheres of Italy and Europe. A notable contribution to the profession of accounting was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double entry system of tracking credits and debits. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici was the first Medici to enter banking on his own, and while he became influential in the Florentine government, it was not until his son Cosimo the Elder took over in 1434 as gran maestro that the Medici became the unofficial head of state of the Florentine republic. The Medici family had long been involved in banking at a high level, maintaining their status as a respectably upper-class and notably wealthy family who derived their money from land holdings in the Mugello region towards the Apennines, north of Florence. The Medicis were not only bankers but innovators in financial accounting. At one point, the Medicis managed most of the great fortunes in the European world, from the members of royalty to merchants. There was even a time when the currency issued by the Medicis was accepted and used throughout Europe as the preferred currency. Giovanni's father Averardo (?¿1363; known as "Bicci") was not a very successful businessman or banker. A distant cousin, Vieri di Cambio (1323¿1396), however, was one of Florence's more prominent bankers (the first of the various modestly upper-class Medici lineages, numbering around 20 in 1364). His banking house trained and employed Giovanni and his elder brother Francesc