Finance is the backbone of our modern world. Commerce is viable because banks, savings and loans, credit bureaus, stock markets, and other financial institutions supply the capital formation framework necessary for businesses to operate in a capitalistic system. Sumerian and Babylonian priests were receiving deposits and making loans as long as 5,000 years ago. The fall of the Rome Empire saw the virtual disappearance of banking as trading declined, but financial dealings thrived in the Arabic countries and in China, where paper money and even checks were being used. It was not until the 11th century that banking on an organized scale was a reality in Europe, after again being reintroduced from the Middle East countries and China.
