Ancient Islamic banking was very complex in order to facilitate silk road trade, and many principles of Islamic banking are still used today (as western banking practices usury which is banned under Sharia Law). Sukuk bonds and murabaha contracts are based in real assets and were originally designed around 700AD to move money long distances with low risk during transport. Banks on opposite sides of the silk road would carry a supply of money/assets and use the notes to designate how much of that would be converted into liquid payments.
This way you could avoid caravans getting raided and losing high volumes of gold and coinage while still transferring value to people creating or transporting goods across the continent. Italian bankers saw the success of this system and took away all the religiously enforced norms to make banking a for-profit enterprise. This would be the point at which trade was used for upward accumulation by the bourgeoise.
I have heard that the Islamic banking system, especially the no-usury part, has been partially adapted to the US housing market. From what I've heard people will form a kind of house-buying union and contribute funds, and when they have enough money they'll buy a house for one of the members of the union. And that member will pay back in the value of the house without interest, with maybe a limited fee on top of the closing price, to enable the union to buy the next house. And they go round and round buying houses for people as they amass enough cash to do so. I understand they've run in to some trouble with US regulation but I can't remember what exactly.
Ancient Islamic banking was very complex in order to facilitate silk road trade, and many principles of Islamic banking are still used today (as western banking practices usury which is banned under Sharia Law). Sukuk bonds and murabaha contracts are based in real assets and were originally designed around 700AD to move money long distances with low risk during transport. Banks on opposite sides of the silk road would carry a supply of money/assets and use the notes to designate how much of that would be converted into liquid payments.
This way you could avoid caravans getting raided and losing high volumes of gold and coinage while still transferring value to people creating or transporting goods across the continent. Italian bankers saw the success of this system and took away all the religiously enforced norms to make banking a for-profit enterprise. This would be the point at which trade was used for upward accumulation by the bourgeoise.
I have heard that the Islamic banking system, especially the no-usury part, has been partially adapted to the US housing market. From what I've heard people will form a kind of house-buying union and contribute funds, and when they have enough money they'll buy a house for one of the members of the union. And that member will pay back in the value of the house without interest, with maybe a limited fee on top of the closing price, to enable the union to buy the next house. And they go round and round buying houses for people as they amass enough cash to do so. I understand they've run in to some trouble with US regulation but I can't remember what exactly.