As a result, there is competition between the individual associations of Italian cities. The main competition was between the associations of Venice and Genoa.
In addition to associations, partnerships were developed in Italy. In 1171, a closed-type unitary association, which had been in operation for several decades, acquired the image of a deposit bank. Subsequent partnerships (banks), being private and owned by rich citizens (patricians), were considered by the city authorities as a public treasury. Constant threats from operating trading houses as rivals, distrust of the citizens, lack of obvious interest in the organization of the monetary economy - this is the general atmosphere in which the partnerships had to be formed. Observing this process, the city authorities understood the need to regulate and regulate such activities.
In 1584, in Venice, the activities of the partnerships were declared a monopoly of the city authorities. It did not last long. Very often, the associations went bankrupt. The individual Venice companies managed to retain their power because there were reliable borrowers and an established network of branches all over Europe. The approach of a reliable clientele thanks to the development of cashless settlements and the acceptance of cash deposits made it possible to change the technology of their activities on an entrepreneurial basis. In 1619, the Venice-based public association was named Girobank (from Latin giro - turnover). Its main operations were payments with a metal coin and replaced by their securities of the partnership. In the period from XII to XVI centuries. to a greater or lesser extent, all European countries were influenced by the activities of Italian partnerships. To a large extent, thanks to the maintenance of a stable currency of their cities, Italian partnerships strengthened their position.
Europe became the center of sustainable penetration of monetary operations, typical for the emergence of banks, in the economic activities of the emerging countries. The true importance of banking became clear in the process of developing trade relations between states. The Italian banking experience is only becoming a stimulus for the creation of own banks. The entrepreneurial layer, which was the source of the emergence of banking specialists, is gradually expanding. Merchants were the first to expand their business at the expense of their funds. As a consequence, other businessmen began to use other people's funds. As for promissory notes, the promissory note had a relatively limited scope of circulation, which, as a rule, covered wholesale trade. It was not possible to purchase retail goods on credit through the promissory note.
As credit relations develop, there is a growing mismatch between the turnover of goods and the volume of fully-fledged metal money circulating. Monetary economy remained weak, therefore, associations or partnerships established in European countries objectively became a tool to stabilize money circulation and strengthen the nascent monetary systems of individual countries.
This process can be seen most clearly in the center of the Netherlands - Amsterdam. As a result of the competition between the city's institute of independent cashiers and the city's exchange bank, the Dutch monetary system was strengthened over several centuries.
In the conditions of the international trade which has accepted wide scales in Amsterdam, constant presence at large trading transactions of a considerable quantity of various tests and advantage of metal money has demanded creation of system of cashiers which should replace. The main function of cashiers was the maintenance of merchants' accounts and cashless settlements. The city of Amsterdam saw the danger in combining the professions of cashiers and changed and decided to establish an organization that would replace the cashiers and act openly by statute. In 1609, a swap bank was established to meet the constant need for the exchange of metal money, which became a major center of banking business.
In 1659, the city authorities' regulation of the coin system, which set a fixed rate for small coins, contributed to the minting of the city's coin, the guilders, starting from 1681. In this connection, the exchange bank was transformed into a deposit and transfer (giro) bank, whose main task was to determine the quality of types of coins to be selected as "good".
The experience of Amsterdam was applied only in large cities of international trade. In areas not connected by regular sea and river routes, the formation of banks had the same foundations as in ancient times. In Germany, the main role in the development of the banking sector was played by branches of Italian trading houses. In France, partnerships played a major role in the formation of banks. As for Russia, the main centers of money transactions were Novgorod and Pskov.
To be continued the next part.