The first proper banks would have sprung up in ancient Mesopotamia. We have evidence that there were temples and palaces throughout Babylonia and other cities which provided lending activities. Although, a lot of this was not in the form of financial lending. Instead, banks would lend out seeds and the like. The idea is that by lending out seeds, farmers would have products that they could work with. When it came to the harvest, the farmers would pay back their seed loan from the harvest.

There are also records of credit from around this time. In fact, we have a history of credit and other banking activities throughout Asian civilization. The Temple of Artemis, for example, was a deposit for cash and there were records of debts held here. Mark Anthony plays a major role in these banks. He is said to have stolen cash from these banks.