A BANK OF THE YEAR 600 B. C.
THE very earliest banking firm of which there is any record was that of Egibi & Son, an institution which carried on advance, exchange and general financial business in Babylon in the year 600 B.C. Knowledge of this firm is obtained from certain records on clay tablets which have been found in recent excavations made by a party of English and French archæologists near the site of the ancient city above mentioned. Bills of credit, drafts, etc., in the form of small burnt clay tablets, each bearing the characteristic signature of Egibi & Son, have been found in many other parts of Asia Minor, and it is believed that close study will prove that some of the clay tablets found in tombs and pyramids in Egypt will finally prove to be Egibi "negotiable notes."—Selected.