The Lex Minucia, passed in 216BC, created a new Senatorial Triumvirate of 'mensarii'. As opposed to 'argentarii', who did business on their own private accounts, the mensarii were a committee of public bankers who were licensed to lend public money in exchange for 'security to the state'. This meant that, essentially, the Republic itself was owed the money, and if debtors defaulted on their payments Rome would take control of their assets as reparation. The new law was a measure specifically designed for raising funds during times of state crisis, and the Second Punic War particularly, when it was used extensively to pay for the ongoing, and increasingly desperate, struggle against Hannibal.
