<P> The development of banking spread from northern Italy throughout the Holy Roman Empire, and in the 15th and 16th century to northern Europe . This was followed by a number of important innovations that took place in Amsterdam during the Dutch Republic in the 17th century, and in London since the 18th century . During the 20th century, developments in telecommunications and computing caused major changes to banks' operations and let banks dramatically increase in size and geographic spread . The financial crisis of 2007--2008 caused many bank failures, including some of the world's largest banks, and provoked much debate about bank regulation . </P> <P> More stable economic relations were brought about with a change in socio - economic conditions from a reliance on hunting and gathering of foods to agricultural practice, during periods beginning sometime after 12,000 BC, at approximately 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, in northern China about 9,500 years ago, about 5,500 years ago in Mexico and approximately 4,500 in the eastern parts of the United States . </P> <P> The history of banking is intertwined with the history of money . Ancient types of money known as grain - money and food cattle - money were used from a time of around at least 9000 BC, as two of the earliest things understood as things to be made use of for the purposes of barter (Davies). </P> <P> Anatolian obsidian as a raw material for Stone Age tools was being distributed from as early as about 12,500 B.C., the occurrence of an organized trade was current during the 9th millennium (Cauvin; Chataigner 1989). Within Sardinia, which was the location of one of the four main sites for sourcing the material deposits of obsidian within the Mediterranean, trade using obsidian was replaced during the 3rd millennia by trade instead of copper and silver . </P>

Where did the first forms of money begin