What is the name of the oldest surviving bank in the world?

“What is the name of the oldest surviving bank in the world?” The answer is Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The Italian bank traces its origins to a charitable lending institution founded in Siena in 1472.

The original Monte Pio was established by the magistrates of the Republic of Siena to provide loans to poorer residents and help combat usury. It was not initially a modern commercial bank, but its institution and operations developed into the bank known today as Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

Major reforms in 1568 and 1624 moved it toward conventional banking. The name refers to the “paschi,” the Tuscan grazing lands whose income was pledged to support the institution. Its present corporate structure dates from 1995, when the banking business was separated from the Monte dei Paschi foundation.

The distinction is “surviving” or “continuously operating.” Older institutions such as Genoa’s Banco di San Giorgio, founded in 1407, eventually ceased operating. Berenberg Bank, founded in 1590, is often described instead as the oldest surviving merchant bank.