Money is of no value unless it changes ownership for something valuable, such as bread. We most value that most useless mineral: gold. It is too soft to make anything more 'useful' than a trinket. Real value is in work done. Some unemployed groups use tokens: how much painting for fixing a car is hard to judge without money and a market to give it value. Curiously, banks are only "money shops". We can make one of these for ourselves once we have a 'stock' of money. Simply start a regular savings club (so much per day or week), and store those combined savings safely in a piggy bank or (preferably) savings bank.

Once we have a decent capital 'in stock' we can lent it to members of our savings club, but first, we need to follow some simple rules. We need to form a credit union so that we have some 'transparency' reporting that make fraud reasonably unlikely. The risk is small, so these rules are 'banking lite'. Successful credit unions can only lend to 'outsiders' if they become savings banks. Successful saving banks can become merchant banks (and trade in their own name, instead of just lending money). Unfortunately some fraudsters in the USA sold mortgages to people with no income, and then hid their mess in 'derivative packages'. The value of capital depends on someone borrowing and paying interest. The capital value and interest that will 'probably' be paid are related. Companys can either take on a mortgage or loan (debenture) and pay a fixed rate to the lender, or sell 'a share' of the business by offering a portion of the profit (if any!) Debentures and shares are called 'stock' because that is what banks (and savings clubs) actually have to sell, just as a butcher stocks meat, or a grocer stocks vegetables. Banking is business, not magic. Shop around for your loan or savings just as you would for your meat and vegetables!