Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the oldest bank in the world became the newest?

Chris Skinner has this interesting thought:

I’m working with a cryptobank start-up, and we’re looking at options for licensing. Various countries have various attractions, with some more attractive than others. I won’t go into the nuances of the details as it’s all under wraps, but one of the founders turned to me and asked if there might be a good licensed bank that they could buy from the get-go. It would fast-track the startup and get them a license straight away, rather than messing about with the lengthy regulatory process of getting approvals. I said: Monte Dei Pashi di Sienna, an Italian bank that’s up for sale, and has been distressed for several years, ever since Europe’s Sovereign Debt crisis.

The interesting thing about this proposition is that we would be launching Europe’s newest bank by acquiring the world’s oldest bank. Monte Dei Pashi di Sienna was established in 1472 and is the oldest continually running bank in the world.