banking in ancient Rome

The earliest banks in ancient Rome were located in temples, as in the Etruscan civilization. They would charge interest on loans, exchange money, and track their finances through written records. Due to the piety of the officials and employees of these temples, the upper class of ancient Rome trusted these places to protect and hold their wealth. Typically, their money was stored in multiple temples. This practice was designed to protect their wealth in case an individual temple was destroyed or attacked in some way.

Another banking group in ancient Rome were the trapezites.{{cite journal |last1=Temin |first1=Peter |author1-link=Peter Temin |date=September 2004 |title=Financial Intermediation in the Early Roman Empire |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-economic-history/article/abs/financial-intermediation-in-the-early-roman-empire/90504E48AC16EA9F1EC6B968F5D173BC |journal=The Journal of Economic History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=705–733 |doi=10.1017/S0022050704002943 |jstor=3874817 |id={{ProQuest|216404189}} |via=Cambridge Core |hdl-access=free |hdl=1721.1/63609 |s2cid=154894486}} They were predecessors of the argentarii,{{Citation |last1=Munro |first1=John |title=Banking and Credit |date=2007 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195130751.001.0001/acref-9780195130751-e-0065 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152534/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195130751.001.0001/acref-9780195130751-e-0065 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195130751.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-513075-1 |access-date=2022-08-03 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |last2=Thomas |first2=W. A. |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }} and they provided banking services in counting houses near the Forum. Roman bankers disappear from the historical record between 260 AD and the fourth century.{{cite journal |last1=Silver |first1=Morris |date=2011 |title=Finding the Roman Empire's disappeared deposit bankers |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41342853 |journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=301–327 |jstor=41342853}} Likely because the continued debasement of the currency hurt the economy, creating difficulties for the banking profession.{{Citation |last1=Depeyrot |first1=Georges|title=Money-changing |date=2005 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195105070.001.0001/acref-9780195105070-e-0509 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195105070.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-510507-0 |access-date=2022-08-03 |last2=Porter |first2=Catherine|last3=Stahl |first3=Alan M. StahlAlan M. |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152528/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195105070.001.0001/acref-9780195105070-e-0509 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}{{cite book |last1=Kay |first1=Philip |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/2823 |title=Rome's Economic Revolution |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-968154-9 |pages=235–265 |chapter=After the Credit Crunch |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199681549.003.0011 |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/book/2823/chapter-abstract/143394211?redirectedFrom=fulltext }} By the mid-fourth century AD, the argentarii and numularii are mentioned again in ancient sources. They had acquired different roles.{{cite journal |last1=Elliott |first1=Colin P. |date=2014 |title=The Acceptance and Value of Roman Silver Coinage in the Second and Third Centuries AD |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44710189 |journal=The Numismatic Chronicle |volume=174 |pages=129–152 |jstor=44710189}}

File:Arco_degli_Argentarii_-_lato_esterno_-_Panairjdde.jpeg

The argentarii, also known as argenteae mensae exercitores, negotiatores stipis argentariae,{{cite journal |last1=Nauta |first1=Lodi |title=Latin as a Common Language: The Coherence of Lorenzo Valla's Humanist Program |journal=Renaissance Quarterly |date=2018 |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=1–32 |doi=10.1086/696885 |jstor=26560745 |s2cid=165408104 |url=https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/aab84ba1-d121-4ec5-95b6-c9eb3ff1e09d |access-date=2022-08-22 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194920/https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/latin-as-a-common-language-the-coherence-of-lorenzo-vallas-humani |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Peneder |first1=Michael |title=Digitization and the evolution of money as a social technology of account |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Economics |date=January 2022 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=175–203 |doi=10.1007/s00191-021-00729-4 |doi-access=free }} and argenti distractores, were private money changers in ancient Rome supervised by the government.{{cite book |last1=Mayumi |first1=Kozo Torasan |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-43225-6_4 |title=Sustainable Energy and Economics in an Aging Population |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-030-43224-9 |series=Lecture Notes in Energy |volume=76 |pages=79–97 |chapter=Beyond the Conventional View: Reconsidering Money, Credit and Interest |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-43225-6_4 |s2cid=216414842}}{{Citation |last=Darley |first=Rebecca |title=argentarius |date=22 March 2018 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-411 |work=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-866277-8 |access-date=2022-08-01 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152531/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-411 |url-status=live }}{{Citation |last=Campbell |first=Gordon |title=Severus, (Lucius) Septimius |date=2007 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195300826.001.0001/acref-9780195300826-e-0908 |encyclopedia=The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195300826.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-530082-6 |access-date=2022-08-02 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152402/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195300826.001.0001/acref-9780195300826-e-0908 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} This group was organized into a guild with a limited number of members. They were commonly located at stalls, shops, tabernae, and in the forum.{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=William |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65909 |title=A Smaller Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |year= 2021 |publisher=DigiCat |pages=254–255 |chapter=Mensarii |access-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705015113/https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65909 |archive-date=5 July 2022 |url-status=live}} These locations were built by the censors and owned by the state.{{cite encyclopedia |first1=Leonhard |last1=Schmitz |author1-link=Leonhard Schmitz |title=Argentarii |pages=130–132 |encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |publisher=John Murray |location=London |year=1875 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Argentarii.html |access-date=2022-08-22 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194910/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA%2A/Argentarii.html |url-status=live }}

The argentarii provided numerous services, such as providing loans,{{cite journal |last=Rauh |first=Nicholas K. |date=1989 |title=Finance and Estate Sales in Republican Rome |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20858375 |journal=Aevum |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=45–76 |jstor=20858375 }} holding money, circulating money, exchanging currency,{{Citation |last=Lothian |first=James R. LothianJames R. |title=Exchange Rates |date= 2005 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195105070.001.0001/acref-9780195105070-e-0252 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195105070.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-510507-0 |access-date=2022-08-02 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152522/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195105070.001.0001/acref-9780195105070-e-0252 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} providing credit at auctions, and determining the quality and material of currency. They were also entrusted with paying off debts.{{Cite book |last=Moshenskyi |first=Sergii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UBDndXgNIYC&dq=Argentarii&pg=PA41 |title=History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note |date=2008 |publisher=New York: Xlibris |isbn=978-1-4363-0694-2 |pages=40–41 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194909/https://books.google.com/books?id=8UBDndXgNIYC&dq=Argentarii&pg=PA41 |url-status=live }} Their powers would expand to include almost all forms of financial transactions. Despite this, their primary goal was to exchange foreign currency for Roman currency.{{Cite web |last=Labate |first=Victor |date=17 November 2016 |title=Banking in the Roman World |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/974/banking-in-the-roman-world/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730134108/https://www.worldhistory.org/article/974/banking-in-the-roman-world/ |archive-date=30 July 2022 |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}} Typically the clients of this group were not wealthy, as the upper class of ancient Rome had more secure methods of storing wealth.{{Cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Scott B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGymDwAAQBAJ&dq=Argentarii&pg=PT45 |title=A History of Credit and Power in the Western World |year= 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-53532-8 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194909/https://books.google.com/books?id=KGymDwAAQBAJ&dq=Argentarii&pg=PT45 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |url-status=live}}

Another group known as the expectores were tasked with keeping financial records, including those of the argentarii.{{cite journal |last1=Last |first1=Richard |date=May 2021 |title=A Fictive Membership Rush and Curatorial Fraud in the Lex of the Collegivm of Ivory and Citrus-Wood Merchants (Cil 6.3885 = Ils 7214) |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-quarterly/article/abs/fictive-membership-rush-and-curatorial-fraud-in-the-lex-of-the-collegivm-of-ivory-and-citruswood-merchants-cil-63885-ils-7214/C572BED42CBB355FC4D5784C008706B3 |journal=The Classical Quarterly |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=347–358 |doi=10.1017/S0009838821000392 |id={{ProQuest|2548800396}} |via=Cambridge Core |s2cid=235747647|url-access=subscription }} The argentarii were likely founded around the 4th century BC. When they were established, they likely only functioned as a replacement for the previous Greek trapezitai and their abilities were likely limited to money-handling.{{Citation |last=Sarris |first=Peter |title=Finance |date= 2018 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-1862 |work=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-866277-8 |access-date=2022-08-01 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152525/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-1862 |url-status=live }} By the 1st century BC they were capable of providing credit.{{cite journal |last1=Lintott |first1=Andrew |author1-link=Andrew Lintott |date=2002 |title=Freedmen and Slaves in the Light of Legal Documents from First-Century A.D. Campania |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-quarterly/article/abs/freedmen-and-slaves-in-the-light-of-legal-documents-from-firstcentury-ad-campania1/60BCDC423612AE7BFD9AE05DD7F673D5 |journal=The Classical Quarterly |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=555–565 |doi=10.1093/cq/52.2.555 |jstor=3556419 |id={{INIST|14564960}} {{ProQuest|201672538}} |via=Cambridge Core|url-access=subscription }} They disappeared from the historical record for around 70 to 80 years after 250 AD, for unknown reasons.{{cite book |last1=Andreau |first1=J. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-ancient-history/commerce-and-finance/0B67913FF3E9A0911FD718FF24D7D53A |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=9781139054393 |pages=769–786 |chapter=Commerce and Finance |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521263351.027 |author1-link=Jean Andreau |via=Cambridge Core}}

The mensarii were state-appointed public bankers.{{cite journal |last1=Niczyporuk |first1=Piotr |title=Bankierzy w Żywotach cezarów Swetoniusza |trans-title=Bankers in The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius |language=pl |journal=Krytyka Prawa |date=15 March 2014 |volume=2014 |issue=1 |doi=10.7206/kp.2080-1084.54 |doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last=Niczyporuk |first=Piotr |date=2014 |title=Nummularii – государственные и частные банкиры в древнем Риме |journal=Miscellanea Historico-Iuridica |language=Russian |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=57–74 |doi=10.15290/mhi.2013.12.03 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Abramova |first1=Marianna G. |last2=Vasilieva |first2=Oxana N. |last3=Milovanova |first3=Marina M. |last4=Popova |first4=Anna V. |last5=Yudenkov |first5=Yuri N. |last6=Safonov |first6=Maxim S. |title=Banks: Old Actors of the New Economy |journal=International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues |date=1 November 2016 |volume=6 |issue=8 |pages=84–89 |id={{ProQuest|1846293526}} |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijefi/issue/32018/354072 |access-date=22 August 2022 |archive-date=22 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160300/https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijefi/issue/32018/354072 |url-status=live }} Usually they were appointed during periods of poverty or war. Their goal was to prevent social unrest and help the plebeians overcome debt and economic hardships.{{Cite book |last=Bernard |first=Seth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FXBoDwAAQBAJ&dq=Mensarii&pg=PT134 |title=Building Mid-Republican Rome: Labor, Architecture, and the Urban Economy |year= 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-087880-1 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194910/https://books.google.com/books?id=FXBoDwAAQBAJ&dq=Mensarii&pg=PT134 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781118339015.ch29 |chapter=The Roman Republic and its Internal Politics between 232 and 167bc |title=A Companion to Livy |year=2014 |last1=Bringmann |first1=Klaus |author1-link=Klaus Bringmann |pages=394–406 |isbn=978-1-118-33901-5 }}{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9780470752753.ch12 |chapter=The Integration of the Plebeians into the Political Order After 366 B.C. |title=Social Struggles in Archaic Rome |year=2005 |last1=Develin |first1=Robert |pages=293–311 |isbn=9780470752753 }} This organization was established in 352 BCE to combat high levels of debt as a five-man commission known as the quinqueviri mensarii.{{cite journal |last1=Bernard |first1=Seth |title=The Social History of Early Roman Coinage |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |date=November 2018 |volume=108 |pages=1–26 |id={{ProQuest|2193724986}} |doi=10.1017/S0075435818000497 |jstor=26817562 |s2cid=165504116 |doi-access=free }}{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781118339015.ch26 |chapter=From 390bcto Sentinum: Political and Ideological Aspects |title=A Companion to Livy |year=2014 |last1=Humm |first1=Michel |pages=342–366 |isbn=978-1-118-33901-5 }} They accomplished this by providing the population access to public services and loans as well as managing the circulation of currency.{{Cite book |last=Vishnia |first=Rachel Feig |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-TGXUFuE28C&dq=Mensarii&pg=PA86 |title=State, Society and Popular Leaders in Mid-Republican Rome 241–167 B.C. |year= 2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-09371-6 |pages=86–89 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194909/https://books.google.com/books?id=n-TGXUFuE28C&dq=Mensarii&pg=PA86 |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last=Niczyporuk |first=Piotr |date=2012 |title=Mensarii – как банкиры |journal=Miscellanea Historico-Iuridica |language=Russian |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=61–76 |doi=10.15290/mhi.2012.11.03 |doi-access=free |hdl=11320/1616 |hdl-access=free }}{{Citation |last=Potter |first=David S. |title=Magistrates and Officials, Roman |date=2010 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195170726.001.0001/acref-9780195170726-e-750 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195170726.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-517072-6 |access-date=2022-08-02 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152403/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195170726.001.0001/acref-9780195170726-e-750 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}

This group evolved into the triumviri mensarii in 216 BCE.{{cite book |doi=10.1163/9789004355552_002 |chapter=Introduction |title=Omnium Annalium Monumenta: Historical Writing and Historical Evidence in Republican Rome |year=2018 |pages=1–13 |isbn=978-90-04-35555-2 |s2cid=239585025 |first1=Christopher |last1=Smith }}{{cite book |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004156494.i-196.17 |chapter=Financial Instruments |title=Money in the Late Roman Republic |year=2007 |pages=31–58 |isbn=978-90-474-1912-9 |first1=D. B. |last1=Hollander }}{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781444393712.ch21 |chapter=Roman Economy, Finance, and Politics in the Second Punic War |title=A Companion to the Punic Wars |year=2011 |last1=Ñaco Del Hoyo |first1=Toni |pages=376–392 |isbn=978-1-4443-9371-2 }} This was a commission of only three people, but performed the same duties as the previous organization.{{Cite web |title=triumviri |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803105808232 |access-date=2022-08-02 |website=Oxford Reference |language=en |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152400/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803105808232 |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Bernard |first1=Seth |title=Debt, Land, and Labor in the Early Republican Economy |journal=Phoenix |date=2016 |volume=70 |issue=3/4 |pages=317–338 |id={{Project MUSE|808005}} {{ProQuest|1937846677}} |doi=10.7834/phoenix.70.3-4.0317 |jstor=10.7834/phoenix.70.3-4.0317 |s2cid=164545996 }} These two groups could perform similar functions to the argentarii, such as money holding and assaying currency.{{Cite book |last=von Reden |first=Sitta |author-link=Sitta von Reden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPZnUsMx0MoC&dq=Mensarii&pg=PA115 |title=Money in Classical Antiquity |year= 2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-78863-2 |page=115 |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194910/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPZnUsMx0MoC&dq=Mensarii&pg=PA115 |url-status=live }}

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The coactores collected and gave money to their employers.{{cite journal |last1=Westgate |first1=Ruth |title=K. M. D. Dunbabin, Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. pp. xxii + 357, 40 pls, 318 figs, 8 maps. ISBN 0-521-46143-X. £75.00. |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |date=November 2001 |volume=91 |pages=200–201 |id={{ProQuest|2212074666}} |doi=10.2307/3184782 |jstor=3184782 |s2cid=129788295 }}{{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=W. V. |title=A Revisionist View of Roman Money |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |date=2006 |volume=96 |pages=1–24 |id={{ProQuest|2212083681}} |doi=10.3815/000000006784016215 |jstor=20430486 |s2cid=163134314 }}{{cite journal |last1=Howgego |first1=Christopher |author1-link=Christopher Howgego |title=The Supply and Use of Money in the Roman World 200 B.C. to A.D. 300 |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |date=November 1992 |volume=82 |pages=1–31 |id={{ProQuest|2212059771}} |doi=10.2307/301282 |jstor=301282 |s2cid=162512195 }} They were used by the argentarii for this function since the 1st century BC. They disappeared from the historical record after the 2nd century AD. This organization was distinct from the argentarii.

There was another group in ancient Rome known as the coactores argentarii, who were responsible for depositing money and collecting debts at auctions.{{Cite book |last=Grossman |first=Richard S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4cvADwAAQBAJ&dq=Argentarii&pg=PA32 |title=Unsettled Account: The Evolution of Banking in the Industrialized World Since 1800 |year=2020 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-20278-5 |pages=32, 35 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821165120/https://books.google.com/books?id=4cvADwAAQBAJ&dq=Argentarii&pg=PA32 |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Jean Andreau |url=http://archive.org/details/bankingbusinessi00andr |title=Banking and business in the Roman world |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-521-38932-7 |author-link=Jean Andreau}} Neither of these groups provided credit to companies,{{clarify|date=August 2022}} nor did they grant loans to finance consumption, although they granted short-term commercial loans.{{Cite book |last=Geva |first=Benjamin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4yHcBAAAQBAJ&dq=Coactores&pg=PA135 |title=The Payment Order of Antiquity and the Middle Ages: A Legal History |year= 2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-84731-843-5 |pages=135–145 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821165119/https://books.google.com/books?id=4yHcBAAAQBAJ&dq=Coactores&pg=PA135 |url-status=live }}

The nummularii were a group designed to mint and test new currency. To do this, they examined the metal which was used to make the coins using their senses and the patterns of the coins. They first appeared in the historical record in the 2nd century BC as money-changers. By the 2nd century AD they began to provide loans, deposit currency, and operate bank accounts.

They ran a bank and put new currency into circulation, and they removed foreign or old coins from circulation.{{Cite book |last=Focardi |first=Sergio M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ARdSDwAAQBAJ&dq=Mensarii&pg=PT62 |title=Money: What It Is, How It's Created, Who Gets It, and Why It Matters |year= 2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-39104-5 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194911/https://books.google.com/books?id=ARdSDwAAQBAJ&dq=Mensarii&pg=PT62 |url-status=live }} Alongside this, they could hold money, sell goods, work at auctions, maintain records, exchange currency, and make payments on behalf of their clients. By the 3rd century, they were the last banking profession in ancient Rome, and they handled all banking affairs.{{cite journal |last1=Ligt |first1=L. De |title=J. Andreau, La Vie Financière dans le Monde Romain. Les Métiers de Manieurs d'Argent (IVe Siècle av. J.C.-IIIe Siècle ap. J.C.) (Bibliothèque des Ecoles Françaises d'Athènes et de Rome, 265). Rome, Ecole Française de Rome, 1987. VIII, 792 p., 20 pl. Pr. FF. 570 |journal=Mnemosyne |date=1 January 1991 |volume=44 |issue=3–4 |pages=490–497 |doi=10.1163/156852591X00378 }}{{cite journal |last1=Niczyporuk |first1=Piotr |title=Bankierzy publiczni w starożytnym Rzymie |journal=Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego - Seria Prawnicza |date=2014 |issue=14 |pages=145–161 |url=http://repozytorium.ur.edu.pl/handle/item/396 |language=Polish |access-date=2022-08-22 |archive-date=2020-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714191224/https://repozytorium.ur.edu.pl/handle/item/396 |url-status=live }}

File:Q._Pompeius_Rufus,_denarius,_54_BC,_RRC_434-2.jpg]]

Roman bankers provided a wide variety of services. They would serve as cashiers and money changers, they could sell goods at auctions, and they could determine the material and quality of currency or open money bases. If this base was irregular or open then the banker was permitted to reinvest or reuse the client's money. Their activities were concluded and recorded with written agreements.{{cite book |doi=10.1093/OBO/9780195389661-0312 |title=Banking in the Roman World |year=2018 |last1=García Morcillo |first1=Marta }}

In early Roman history most contracts were conducted orally, with witnesses used to confirm the legitimacy of the agreement. Later notaries were used to keep public written records of contracts.{{cite book |doi=10.1515/ebr |title=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |year=2011 |volume=3 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-018371-9 |url=https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_57EE15789391 |editor-last1=Klauck |editor-link1=Hans-Josef Klauck |author1-link=Hans-Josef Klauck |editor-last2=Leppin |editor-last3=McGinn |editor-link3=Bernard McGinn (theologian) |editor-last4=Seow |editor-link4=Choon-Leong Seow |editor-last5=Spieckermann |editor-link5=Hermann Spieckermann |editor-last6=Walfish |editor-last7=Ziolkowski |editor-first1=Hans-Josef |editor-first2=Volker |editor-first3=Bernard |editor-first4=Choon-Leong |editor-first5=Hermann |editor-first6=Barry Dov |editor-first7=Eric J |access-date=2022-08-23 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194920/https://serval.unil.ch/en/notice/serval:BIB_57EE15789391 |url-status=live }}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} Roman bankers belonged to the plebeian or freedmen classes rather than the aristocracy.{{cite book |last=Millet |first=Paul |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1049?rskey=1m18mp&result=1 |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-first1=Simon |editor-link1=Simon Hornblower |language=en |chapter=Banks |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001 |author-link=Paul Millett |editor-last2=Spawforth |editor-first2=Antony |editor-last3=Eidinow |editor-first3=Esther |editor-link3=Esther Eidinow }}{{cite journal |last1=Rathbone |first1=D. W. |title=J. Andreau, Banking and Business in the Roman World (Key Themes in Ancient History). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. pp. xix + 176, ISBN 0-521-38031-6(bound); 0-521-38932-1(paper). £37.50 (bound); £13.95 (paper). |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |date=November 2001 |volume=91 |page=201 |doi=10.2307/3184783 |jstor=3184783 |s2cid=164103856 |url=http://www.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam032/98048325.html |url-access=subscription }}{{Citation |last=Millett |first=Paul C. |author-link=Paul Millett |editor-first1=Simon |editor-link1=Simon Hornblower |editor-first2=Antony |editor-first3=Esther |editor-link3=Esther Eidinow |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-last2=Spawforth |editor-last3=Eidinow |title=banks |date=20 December 2012 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1049 |work=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |access-date=2022-08-03 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152405/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1049 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} They sometimes became very wealthy. Typically they organized themselves into groups of two or three members. Many children of these bankers achieved equestrian rank.

Roman bankers were allowed to open bank accounts.{{Cite web |last=Morcillo |first=Marta |date=24 May 2018 |title=Banking in the Roman World |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-9780195389661-0312.xml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801213843/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-9780195389661-0312.xml |archive-date=1 August 2022 |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=obo |language=en}} These accounts were entered in a register. If a Roman was involved in a lawsuit, they were required to create these accounts. This was because these accounts were considered reliable proof in lawsuit cases. Bankers participated in the receptum argentarii,{{cite book |doi=10.1163/9789004401655_016 |chapter=Roman actuarial science and Ulpian's life expectancy table |title=Roman Rule and Civic Life: Local and Regional Perspectives |year=2004 |pages=275–297 |isbn=978-90-04-40165-5 |jstor=10.1163/j.ctv2gjwxqd.20 |last1=De Vries |first1=T. |last2=Zwalve |first2=W. J. |author-link2=Willem Zwalve |publisher=Brill }} an agreement that involved three people: the banker, the client, and the third party. The banker would pay the money the client owned to the third party.{{clarify|date=August 2022}}{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah06036.pub2 |chapter=Banks |title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |year=2020 |last1=Andreau |first1=Jean |author1-link=Jean Andreau |pages=1–3 |isbn=978-1-4051-7935-5 |s2cid=241493769 }}

Stipulation was common in ancient Rome: the debtor was questioned by the creditor in the presence of witnesses, about their willingness to pay back the debt. Written contracts were used to document the transfer of the creditor's loan to the debtor. These contracts were usually simple, due to the illiteracy of the Roman population.{{Cite book |last=Moshenskyi |first=Sergii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UBDndXgNIYC&dq=Loans+ancient+rome&pg=PA40 |title=History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note |date=2008 |publisher=New York: Xlibris |isbn=978-1-4363-0694-2 |pages=40–42 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194952/https://books.google.com/books?id=8UBDndXgNIYC&dq=Loans+ancient+rome&pg=PA40 |url-status=live }} Since Roman banks lacked any incentive to ensure that their client's deposits would remain safe during a bank run, they usually kept less in reserves than the full amount of their clients deposits. They were not required to insure their customers' deposits. There was very little regulation of Roman bankers, with most banks and bankers relying on trust. This meant that the clients lacked any protection or safety net in the event of a bank run or a financial crisis.

The nummularii offered a rudimentary credit system and they provided moneylending services.{{Cite web |last=Millett |first=Paul C. |author-link=Paul Millett |date=22 December 2015 |title=Credit |url=https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-1919 |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.1919 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803190943/https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-1919 |url-status=live }} The coactores and the argentarii also gave credit to buyers at auctions. Credit services may also have been provided by entrepreneurs known as the faeneratores.{{Cite book |last1=Erdkamp |first1=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l93QDwAAQBAJ&q=Banking+in+ancient+Rome |title=Capital, Investment, and Innovation in the Roman World |last2=Verboven |first2=Koenraad |last3=Zuiderhoek |first3=Arjan |year= 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-257896-9 |pages=382–384 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194952/https://books.google.com/books?id=l93QDwAAQBAJ&q=Banking+in+ancient+Rome |url-status=live }} Aristocratic financers were another source of credit. They used their own wealth to fund their loans to other members of the upper class or to foreign cities and nobles. Following auctions the coactores and the argentarii would impose on the buyers a time-limit for their payment, and they would pay the vendors the money which was owed to them.{{cite journal |last1=Schwei |first1=David |title=An Explanation for the Addition of the Aureus to the Roman Imperial Coinage System |journal=Classical Journal |date=2020 |volume=116 |issue=2 |pages=199–214 |id={{Project MUSE|801278}} {{ProQuest|2466060172}} |doi=10.1353/tcj.2020.0030 }}

Although these financial services were necessary for starting a business, almost all Romans would have engaged in credit.{{cite book |doi=10.1515/9781474478168-009 |chapter=Chapter 5 the Personal Infrastructure of Maritime Trade |title=Roman Law and Maritime Commerce |year=2022 |last1=Marzano |first1=Annalisa |author1-link=Annalisa Marzano |pages=57–76 |isbn=9781474478168 }} Most credit arrangements lasted a month, with an interest rate of 1%, per month. The Romans believed that anyone involved in trade should use credit.{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233359.003.0010 |chapter=The Nature of Roman Money |title=The Monetary Systems of the Greeks and Romans |year=2008 |last1=Harris |first1=W. V. |pages=174–207 |isbn=978-0-19-923335-9 |authorlink1=William V. Harris }} People who provided credit might also have sold their right to collect the debt to another party. In ancient Rome, credit transactions relied on trust. It was common for people to lose trust in their creditors, often resulting in a significant negative impact on the economy and the credit industry.{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah06091 |chapter=Credit |title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |year=2012 |last1=Hollander |first1=David B. |isbn=9781444338386 }}{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199681549.001.0001 |title=Rome's Economic Revolution |year=2014 |last1=Kay |first1=Philip |isbn=978-0-19-968154-9 }}

Loan defaults carried severe penalties, as their borrowers could be enslaved, mutilated, or sued.{{Cite book |last1=Homer |first1=Sidney |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aASnQujNgzoC&q=Loans+ancient+rome |title=A History of Interest Rates |last2=Sylla |first2=Richard |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-04622-7 |page=59 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194955/https://books.google.com/books?id=aASnQujNgzoC&q=Loans+ancient+rome |url-status=live }} Most ancient Roman loans were linked to consumption. These loans allowed merchants to restock their goods more quickly and it allowed them to purchase more goods. They were often essential, as it was almost impossible for many people to live in ancient Rome without debt.{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781118300664.ch21 |chapter=Production in Rome |title=A Companion to the City of Rome |year=2018 |last1=Kehoe |first1=Dennis |pages=443–458 |isbn=978-1-118-30066-4 |s2cid=165360045 }} Usually Roman loans were given to young nobles, and they generally had high interest rates.{{Cite journal |last=Niczyporuk |first=Piotr |date=2013 |title=Operacje wykonywane przez bankierów rzymskich (argentarii) |trans-title=Transactions Performed by Roman Bankers (argentarii) |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=613933 |journal=Krytyka Prawa |language=Polish |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=481–506 |access-date=2022-08-03 |archive-date=2022-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803152523/https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=613933 |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Louis |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AcP5AQAAQBAJ&dq=Credit+ancient+rome&pg=PA85 |title=Ancient Rome at Work: An Economic History of Rome From the Origins to the Empire |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-60351-8 |pages=84–88 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194958/https://books.google.com/books?id=AcP5AQAAQBAJ&dq=Credit+ancient+rome&pg=PA85 |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Toner |first=J. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=duDO_Ncb4FEC&dq=Loans+ancient+rome&pg=PT12 |title=Popular Culture in Ancient Rome |year= 2013 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-7456-5490-4 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194958/https://books.google.com/books?id=duDO_Ncb4FEC&dq=Loans+ancient+rome&pg=PT12 |url-status=live }} Another common option was to give loans to close family or friends as a method of averting risk.{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Andrew |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/9102 |title=Trade, Commerce, and the State in the Roman World |last2=Bowmann |first2=Alan |year=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-250797-6 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198790662.001.0001}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}

It is possible that ancient Roman loans lacked a security deposit.{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Adams |first1=Samuel L. |last2=Bradbury |first2=Carlee |last3=Bühler |first3=Axel |last4=Cheong |first4=John |last5=Chryssides |first5=George D. |last6=Chung-Kim |first6=Esther |last7=Gvaryahu |first7=Amit |last8=Hudnut-Beumler |first8=James |last9=Llewellyn Ihssen |first9=Brenda |last10=Mell |first10=Julie |last11=Sanders |first11=Theresa |last12=Stenschke |first12=Christoph |last13=Swindell |first13=Anthony |last14=Thompson |first14=Trevor W. |last15=Timani |first15=Hussam |title=Moneylending |doi=10.1515/ebr.moneylending |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception |s2cid=245054874 }}{{Cite book |last1=Dari-Mattiacci |first1=Giuseppe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PTjpDwAAQBAJ&dq=Coactores&pg=PA89 |title=Roman Law and Economics|volume =II: Exchange, Ownership, and Disputes |last2=Kehoe |first2=Dennis P. |year=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-109099-8 |pages=97–101 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194959/https://books.google.com/books?id=PTjpDwAAQBAJ&dq=Coactores&pg=PA89 |url-status=live }} However, ancient loans required some form of security.{{Cite book |last=Holleran |first=Claire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pQJREAAAQBAJ&dq=Coactores&pg=PA81 |title=Shopping in Ancient Rome: The Retail Trade in the Late Republic and the Principate |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-162641-8 |page=46 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912194959/https://books.google.com/books?id=pQJREAAAQBAJ&dq=Coactores&pg=PA81 |url-status=live }} Usually, loans were made and credits were extended on risky terms, because the available capital typically exceeded the amount needed by borrowers.{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=W. V. |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/5991 |title=The Monetary Systems of the Greeks and Romans |date=2008 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-923335-9 |editor-last1=Harris |editor-first1=W. V |language=en |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233359.001.0001}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} The senatorial elite were heavily involved in private lending, as both creditors and borrowers, and made loans from their personal fortunes on the basis of social connections.

There were a variety of types of ancient Roman loans. One kind, known as a mutuum, was made without interest. Under this kind of loan, the property rights passed to the banker. They were returned when the debt was paid off. Loans with interest were known as fenus or usura. Another kind of loan was the fenus nauticum or pecunia traiecticia. It was contracted between two individuals with the aid of an intermediary. It was common for the banks to play the role of the intermediary.{{cite book |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah13175 |chapter=Loan, Greek and Roman |title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |year=2012 |last1=Rovira-Guardiola |first1=Charo |isbn=978-1-4443-3838-6 }}{{cite journal |last1=Collins |first1=Andrew |last2=Walsh |first2=John |title=Fractional Reserve Banking in the Roman Republic and Empire |date=2014 |journal=Ancient Society |volume=44 |pages=179–212 |jstor=44079991 }}

{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}

• Roman finance

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Rome, ancient

Category:Economy of ancient Rome

Category:History of banking