New Books Network 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, explores how banks and states forged modern money through seven historical deals. He walks through ledgers, Venice's public banking, Pisa’s ledger-driven industry, the Bank of England’s evolution, American revolutionary finance, and Bolshevik ledger experiments. Short, vivid stories link debts, promises, and recurring bailouts.
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Bank Money Is State Debt In Practice
- Modern bank money originates from exchanges where banks hold public debt as assets and issue liabilities (promises to pay) to clients.
- Paolo Zannoni cites Venetian ledgers showing banks used state debt as the core asset backing transferable bank promises to support commerce.
Venice's Public Bank Ledger Story
- Venice consolidated banking into a single public bank that held coins and public debt to stabilize deposits after repeated private bank failures.
- Zannoni describes a ledger page where a government branch promises the bank, the bank promises clients, and the Mint supplies coins to make some debt convertible.
Bailouts Are Structural, Not Accidental
- States repeatedly bail out banks because banks' liabilities function as national money, so rescuing banks protects the currency.
- Zannoni compares Hank Paulson's 2008 capital injections to a 1513 Venetian state-backed rescue, showing structural continuity.
