New Books in Economics Paolo Zannoni, "Money and Promises: Seven Deals That Changed the World" (Columbia Business School, 2024)
Feb 24, 2026
Paolo Zannoni, banker, executive, and monetary historian, examines seven historical deals linking states and banks. He traces public banks from medieval Pisa and Venice to the Bank of England, Continental Congress experiments, and Bolshevik ledgers. Conversations cover bank-created money, bailouts, state backing symbols, and how ledgers reshaped commerce across eras.
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Bank Money Is Built On State Debt
- Modern bank money emerges when banks accept private promises and issue their own promises backed largely by public debt.
- Paolo Zannoni shows Venice's Banco del Giro took public debt as assets and issued bank liabilities that people used as money, expanding liquidity.
Bailouts Are Structural Not Accidental
- Banking crises and state rescues recur because it's infeasible for banks to back every liability with full liquidity or capital.
- Zannoni argues modern states routinely save banks to protect the currency and money supply, making bailouts structural.
1513 Venice Standard Bearer Stopped A Bank Run
- In 1513 Venice a banker facing a run stood with the Council of Ten's standard bearer behind him, signaling state backing and stopping the panic.
- Zannoni parallels Hank Paulson's 2008 capital injections as the modern equivalent of the Council's show of support.
