Medici Bank

Medici Bank
Industry	Financial services, banking
Founded	1397
Defunct	1494
Fate	Liquidated
Headquarters	Florence, ; Republic of Florence ; (present-day Italy)
Key people	Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici; Cosimo de' Medici; Piero di Cosimo de' Medici; Lorenzo de' Medici; Francesco Sassetti; Piero di Lorenzo;
Products	Commercial banking; Investment banking; Private banking; Retail banking; Pawnbroker;
Number of employees	~40
Parent	Vieri di Cambio's bank
Subsidiaries	Branches in Rome, Venice, Milan, Pisa, Geneva, Lyon, Avignon, London, Bruges

The Medici Bank (Italian: Banco dei Medici [ˈbaŋko dei ˈmɛːditʃi]) was a financial institution created by the Medici family in Italy during the 15th century (1397–1494). It was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during its prime.^[1] There are some estimates that the Medici family was, for a period of time, the wealthiest family in Europe. Estimating their wealth in today's money is difficult and imprecise, considering that they owned art, land, and gold. With this monetary wealth, the family acquired political power initially in Florence, and later in the wider spheres of Italy and Europe.

A notable contribution to the professions of banking and accounting pioneered by the Medici Bank was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double entry system of tracking debits and credits or deposits and withdrawals.^[2]

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici established the bank in Florence, and while he and his family were influential in the Florentine government, it was not until his son Cosimo the Elder took over in 1434 as gran maestro that the Medici became the unofficial head of state of the Florentine Republic.

^ The qualifier "during the 15th century" is important, as the Bardi and Peruzzini banks of the 14th century are considered to have been considerably larger in their prime; the smaller size of the Medici bank is attributed to the poor business conditions of the fifteenth century, which are sometimes one of the proffered causes for the Medici bank's ultimate decline and failure. The Medici's relative lack of ambition can be seen in how they never truly challenged the Hanseatic League, established no branches in the Middle East, and did not pursue business in and around the Baltic Sea. See de Roover (1966), pp. 5–6, 8.
^ "A surviving fragment of the ledger of the Bruges branch shows that the books were carefully kept and that the double-entry system was in use." De Roover (1948), p. 24. In an attached footnote, de Roover identifies the erroneous belief that the Medicis did not use double-entry as stemming from Otto Meltzing's mistake in Das Bankhaus der Medici und seine Vorläufer (Jena, 1906) and repeated in Gutkind's Cosimo.

[1] The qualifier "during the 15th century" is important, as the Bardi and Peruzzini banks of the 14th century are considered to have been considerably larger in their prime; the smaller size of the Medici bank is attributed to the poor business conditions of the fifteenth century, which are sometimes one of the proffered causes for the Medici bank's ultimate decline and failure. The Medici's relative lack of ambition can be seen in how they never truly challenged the Hanseatic League, established no branches in the Middle East, and did not pursue business in and around the Baltic Sea. See de Roover (1966), pp. 5–6, 8.

[2] "A surviving fragment of the ledger of the Bruges branch shows that the books were carefully kept and that the double-entry system was in use." De Roover (1948), p. 24. In an attached footnote, de Roover identifies the erroneous belief that the Medicis did not use double-entry as stemming from Otto Meltzing's mistake in Das Bankhaus der Medici und seine Vorläufer (Jena, 1906) and repeated in Gutkind's Cosimo.

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