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 Modern banking traces its roots back to the 12th century.   Medieval moneychangers expanded their services from currency exchange to partnerships, deposits, credit, and foreign exchange. With the growth of commerce, the trading centers of northern Italy, like Florence, Venice, and Genoa, were hotbeds of financial innovations.   Leonardo Fibonacci revolutionized mathematics and its application to commerce by introducing  to Europe the Hindu-Arabic numeric system. By the 14th century, the rise and fall of prominent banking families like the Bardi in Florence led to the reshaping of the European economic landscape. These families would become wealthy and powerful as they influenced politics and culture.

Map of Florence from Paul Strathern's "The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance."
Map of Florence (podpage.com)

Resources:
The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
The Dawn of Modern Banking: Selected Papers: Yale University
The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages: 950-1350 by Robert S. Lopez

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Intro Music: Hayden Symphony #39
Outro Music: Vivaldi Concerto for Mandolin and Strings in D