The Council of Venice decreed that bank money should not be liable to seizure for debt, nor the subject of mortgage: a decree that assisted to still further raise its value over that of coins.
The three great decrees affecting the Giro: the provision that bills of exchange, tmless othenvise stipulated and so expressed, should be payable only at the Giro ; that all payments in gross or in wholesale transactions should be effected through the Giro, and the stoppage of interest payments on the capital of the Giro are all ascribed to the year 1423, when Thomas Moncenigo was Doge. There are, however, rea sons to believe that these decrees were not co incidental. A later decree of the Council pro hibited and severely punished all persons con victed of paying or receiving coins at any other than their denominational value; a provision that still further enhanced the superiority of bank money.
The bank (Giro) was shut one day in each week and four times in a year, each time 20 days, to balance and supervise the books. These intervals constituted a practical moratorium of 132 days in the year. During the intervals when the bank was thus shut, no bill payable in it matured, none could be protested until six days after the opening. This extended the
moratorium to 138 days per annum, during the whole of which time the bank was drawing interest on such of its funds as were disposable in market; while it was paying out none. For the history of other ancient banks see Baace LONA, BANK OF ; BYZANTIUM, BANK OF; FUG .GE1S, BANK OF THE; GENOA, BANK OF ; MEDICI, BANKS OF THE; TYRE, BANK OP.
Bibliography.— Cicogna-Soranzo, (Biblio grafia veneziana) (Venice 1857; 1885) ; Daru, P. A. N. B., (Histoire de la republique de Venis0 (Pans 1853) ; Del Mar, A.,