Earlier finance/banking

The Republic of Genoa, in conjunction (and opposition) with various banking families in Germany, was the first country to produce "modern" financiers. In addition, it was probably the first country that had a central bank (and the bank-dominated government of the republic earned accolades from Machiavelli).

Now, was it possible for finance and central banking to develop earlier, preferably in a single mercantile state?
 
The Republic of Genoa, in conjunction (and opposition) with various banking families in Germany, was the first country to produce "modern" financiers. In addition, it was probably the first country that had a central bank (and the bank-dominated government of the republic earned accolades from Machiavelli).

Now, was it possible for finance and central banking to develop earlier, preferably in a single mercantile state?

Bringing paper to Europe earlier would be helpful as its a necessary prerequisite to have a way to easily/cheaply store and copy information before you can develop financial instruments.
 
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