Bank of Saint George

The Bank of Saint George (Casa delle compere e dei banchi di San Giorgio or informally as Ufficio di San Giorgio or Banco) was a financial institution of the Republic of Genoa. It was founded in 1407 to consolidate the public debt, which had been escalating due to the war with Venice for trading and financial dominance. The Bank's primary mission was to facilitate the management of the San Giorgio shares (luoghi). It was one of the oldest chartered banks in Europe and of the world. The Bank's headquarters were at the Palazzo San Giorgio, which was built in the 13th century by the order of Guglielmo Boccanegra, uncle of Simone Boccanegra, the first Doge of Genoa. Its parent, Casa di San Giorgio administered the Bank, and needed frequent liquidity injection to support the war against Venice and Genoa's ailing public finance. By 1445, the Bank suspended operations focusing on servicing the Genoese state. However, it managed to reopen for business with the general public in 1530. Many of Genoa's overseas territories were governed either directly or indirectly by the Bank. In 1453 the Republic handed over governance of Corsica, Gazaria, and a number of other possessions to Bank officials, though over the course of the fifteenth century the Republic gradually reclaimed many of its territories from Bank control. The Taman peninsula remained in the control of the de Ghisolfi family, but the princes of that clan now reported to the Bank. The Bank lent considerable sums of money to many rulers throughout Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, gaining widespread influence. Ferdinand and Isabella maintained accounts there, as did Christopher Columbus. Before leaving for his fourth voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to the Governors of the Bank of St. George, Genoa, dated at Seville, 2 April 1502. He wrote, "Although my body is here my heart is always near you." Charles V was heavily in debt to the Bank during much of his reign.