Some financial institutions are called banks. But where does the word "bank" come from?

The word bank was borrowed in Middle English from Middle French banque, from Old Italian banca, meaning "table", from Old High German banc, bank "bench, counter". Benches were used as makeshift desks or exchange counters during the Renaissance by Jewish Florentine bankers, who used to make their transactions atop desks covered by green tablecloths.