• Home Equity Loan   • Home Refinance Loan   • Home Purchase Loan   • Second Mortgage Loan   • Debt Consolidation Loan
Home Equity Loan Store «A website where you can find the lowest interest rates on home loans with absolutely free quotes from multiple lenders»
::

A Brief Look at the Origins of Lending


When trying to discover the origins of lending you might find yourself looking at a lot of unrelated information that doesn't really tell you what it is that you want to know.

The origins of lending go back to at least biblical times, with mentions of lending even being mentioned in certain places in the Bible. Even with modern banking and lending, the origins of lending can go back several hundred years? all the way to the Middle Ages and before.

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance are likely the best places to begin looking for information on this subject, as these times were when financial records were beginning to be kept in earnest and lending in its modern form was beginning to truly develop.

Lending in the early Middle Ages

If you look at the early Middle Ages to try to discover the origins of lending, you'll find that loans were often more or less one-sided and always afforded a large benefit to the lender.

Landowners and the wealthy would make loans to poorer individuals while charging high interest rates or making the borrower work to pay off the debt? in many cases, the lender would even increase the terms of the loan once is was nearly repaid so that the borrower would have to continue to make payments or work without pay for the lender.

If a borrower was unable to repay their loan they could even be thrown into a debtor's prison, held without fair trial until someone was able to pay off their debt or other arrangements for their release were made.

Lending during the Renaissance

During the Renaissance and late Middle Ages, the origins of lending began to take a turn more toward what lending is today. Individuals known as moneylenders would ply their trade in market squares and other business and merchant venues, setting up a bench known as a "banca" (from which we get the modern English word, "bank") on which they would conduct their transactions.

Several moneylenders might work in the same area, and the competition tended to reduce some of the extravagant interest rates that were created by landowners and other officials in previous centuries? this didn't, however, mean that the trade of the moneylender was completely fair or righteous.

The moneylenders would still strive to make as much of a profit as they could from borrowers, and might go so far as to falsify their records of payments and transactions so as to scam more money out of the less fortunate or uneducated.

Debtor's prisons were popular, and in some areas were very crowded with people who had barely been getting by in the outside world and had little hope of release.

Lending in the modern world

As time has progressed, so have the methods of making and receiving loans? it's easy to see how far things have come since the early origins of lending.

The predecessors of modern banks developed in conjunction with the Industrial Revolution, and in the decades and centuries that followed most major countries worldwide have abolished most types of unfair lending as well as debtor's prisons.

Interest rates at banks, finance companies, and online lenders are controlled by both local and national factors, and modern lenders strive to provide a valuable service to both the public and businesses by providing reasonable interest rates and definite terms.

Lending has grown from a practice of a few individuals looking for profits to a major industry on which the basis of the modern world is built? an example of how from simple origins can come great things.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.


MORE RESOURCES:

CNBC.com

Draghi Urges Banks to Take ECB's Cheap Loans
Wall Street Journal
Learn More FRANKFURT—European Central Bank President Mario Draghi openly encouraged European banks to take advantage of the ECB's next offer of cheap three-year loans later this month, saying use of the facility shouldn't be interpreted as a sign of ...
ECB to Leave Rates Flat Ahead of More Loans; Greece EyedCNBC.com
JPMorgan Says Euro Will Struggle to Advance Amid ECB LoansSan Francisco Chronicle
Euribor Declines in Longest Run for 2 1/2 Years on ECB's Record LiquidityBloomberg
Financial Times -Irish Independent -The Australian
all 3,110 news articles »


ABC30.com

Student loan debt: The next financial disaster?
CBS News
Student loan debt is pushing a growing number of Americans into bankruptcy and an organization of bankruptcy lawyers predicted this week that the college debt problem could become as big a catastrophe as the home mortgage crisis.
Student loan debt: Next big bubble to burstABC30.com
Growing student loans called 'debt bomb'Greenville News
Why Can't You Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy?TIME
Business Insider -Joplin Globe -U.S. News & World Report
all 84 news articles »


Wall Street Journal

Tesla CEO Says New Models, Loans On Track
Wall Street Journal
By JOSEPH B. WHITE Tesla Motors Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Elon Musk said Thursday his luxury electric car company is in compliance with terms of its loans from the federal government, and on schedule to launch two new models by the end of next ...

and more »


New York Times

Loan Terms Made to Order
New York Times
Or maybe you want to time a refinancing so that the loan is paid up when the kids head off to college. There are a number of lenders that would be happy to oblige. Customized mortgages aren't new. But industry experts say they are seeing more and more ...

and more »


Bloomberg

Draghi Slams Virility Statements as Bankers Shun ECB Loans
BusinessWeek
10 (Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi lashed out at bankers who said tapping the ECB's three-year-loan program carries a stigma, after executives including Deutsche Bank AG's Josef Ackermann said they shunned the loans.
Bank of Italy to accept more banking loans as collateralReuters
Draghi attacks bankers over ECB fearsFinancial Times

all 40 news articles »


Carolina Trust Bank Reports 4Q, Year-End 2011 Earnings; Declining Property ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Total loans grew $5.80 million during 2011 to $209.90 million at Dec. 31, 2011 compared to $204.10 million at Dec. 31, 2010. -- Core deposits increased by $7.99 million in 2011 due to Carolina Trust's repositioning strategy to reduce higher-cost, ...
The Private Bank Of California Reports December 31, 2011 ResultsTheStreet.com (press release)
Evans Bancorp Reports 176% Increase in Net Income for the Fourth Quarter of ...Insurance News Net (press release)
Tri-County Financial Corporation Announces Results of Operations for Fourth ...PR Newswire (press release)

all 131 news articles »


TIME

Class Notes: Science Fairs, Student Loans and More Education News
TIME
In the report from the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, four out of five of the 860 lawyers surveyed said the number of potential clients they encounter with student loan debt has “significantly” or “somewhat” increased over the ...

and more »


S&P Warns Student Loans May Be The Next Bubble To Burst In US Economy
Huffington Post
Student-loan debt may be the next major US-asset bubble to burst, according to Standard & Poor's. The problem: colleges and universities are hamstrung with lower endowments, while students have increasingly lower prospects of ever paying back their ...

and more »


Parkland Used Car Dealer, Titus-Will Chevrolet Announces Bad Credit Loans ...
PR.com (press release)
The Parkland used car dealer, ParklandChevrolet.com has announced bad credit auto loans provision for new/ used cars. Titus-Will Chevrolet collaborates with nationally recognized finance companies and offers low interest rates and monthly payments.

and more »


Small Business Administration loans $1.8 million to Oklahoma quake victims
NewsOK.com
The US Small Business Administration has issued dozens of loans totaling $1.8 million to help residents in and around Lincoln County rebuild from earthquake damage. BY ANDREW KNITTLE aknittle@opubco.com Leave a comment The US Small Business ...

and more »

Google News

Home Equity Loan | Home Refinance Loan | Home Purchase Loan | Second Mortgage Loan | Home Improvement Loan | Debt Consolidation Loan | Loans | Leases & Leasing | Personal Finance | Mortgage Refinance | Debt Consolidation | Debt Relief | Finance Resources
© 2006 Home Equity Loan Store | Loans Information | Loans Articles