A History of Banks From the Knights Templar to the Present Era

This book provides an overview of monetary history from the perspectives of the financial intermediaries who shaped it. Starting from the Knights Templar and ending with contemporary national banking champions, it presents several case studies that demonstrate how banks from around the world have revolutionized both their operations and the markets they operate in. The text holds a plea for democratic and transnational financial intermediation systems. It appeals to students and scholars of economic history as well as to anyone interested in the history of banking and finance.

Chapter 1. Introduction: The Origins and Fundamentals of Banking.- Chapter 2. The Medici Family: Bankers of the Renaissance (14th and 15th century).- Chapter 3. Corporations, Stock Exchanges and the Amsterdam Bank of Exchange (Late 16th and 17th century).- Chapter 4. Goldsmith Bankers and The Birth of the Fractional Reserve System (17th and early 18th century).- Chapter 5. John Law: The Lord of Paper Money (late 17th and early 18th century).- Chapter 6. The Rothschilds: The Global Financial Empire (18th and 19th century).- Chapter 7. J.P. Morgan: The Banker Who Saved America (19th and 20th Century).- Chapter 8. The Ottoman Bank: State Bank of the Empire (19th and 20th Century).- Chapter 9. The Rise (and Fall) of National Banking Champions (19th, 20th and early 21st Century).- Chapter 10. Citibank: A National Champion Going Beyond Limits (20th and early 21st century).- Chapter 11. Conclusion and General Discussion.

Mehmet Baha Karan is a Professor of Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. His research focuses on financial economics and energy economics. He is a board member of the Multinational Finance Society and co-founder of the Center for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI). He is passionate about fair competition in financial markets and independent central banks.

Wim Westerman is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. His research focuses on financial management, and he is co-founder of the Center for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI). He likes customer-centric financial intermediation systems.

Jacob Wijngaard is Professor Emeritus of Production Management at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. After his retirement, he became interested in the multifaceted operations of the global monetary system and has since been developing ideas of how to redesign it for a more robust and less bank-oriented future.