The first bank was established in _____.

• A. Europe
• B. Asia
• C. Americas
• D. Africa

Answer: (A)

Origin of formal banking. The question focuses on where the first formal banking institution emerged—one that took deposits, made loans, and facilitated money transfers. In medieval Europe, especially in Italian city-states like Genoa and Venice, merchants developed organized banking practices and created institutions that offered these services. The Banco di San Giorgio in Genoa, founded around 1407, is often cited as the first bank because it exemplified the kind of organized financial operations that define modern banking. While other regions had various moneylending or exchange activities, they did not establish a formal bank in the same sense at that time. That’s why Europe is the best answer.