A bank was founded to fund a war, and became the model for every central bank since

In 1694, a group of London merchants lent King William III £1.2 million to fund a war against France, and in return got a royal charter to found the Bank of England. It began as a private profit-making venture, not a government institution — and it still became the template that central banks worldwide were built on.

— David Kynaston, The Bank of England: A History — 2017
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