The First Banks

The first banks were probably the religious temples of the ancient world and were probably established sometime during the third millennium B.C. Banks probably predated the invention of money. Deposits initially consisted of grain and later other goods including cattle, agricultural implements, and eventually, precious metals such as gold, in the form of easy-to-carry compressed plates. Temples and palaces were the safest places to store gold as they were constantly attended and well built . As sacred places, temples presented an extra deterrent to would-be thieves.