Barings Bank, previously known as Baring Brothers & Co., is the oldest merchant banking company in England, having been founded in 1762.
Barings collapsed on February 26, 1995, due to the activities of one trader, Nick Leeson, who lost $1.4 billion by gambling on the SIMEX with primarily derivative securities. This was the second time Barings had faced bankruptcy, the first being in 1890 when a significant amount of investment was lost in South America following the Argentinan revolution. However, at that time, they had been bailed out by the Bank of England and other London banks.
Barings was purchased by the Dutch bank/insurance company ING after its collapse (for the nominal sum of £1) and no longer has a separate corporate existence. Its name lives on in Baring Asset Management.
Nick Leeson's autobiography of the event leading up to the collapse were dramatized in the movie Rogue Trader.
Barings faced a crisis in 1890 when speculative expansion brought the company's liabilities to more than 21 million pounds sterling, and while the bank was rescued by the Rothschild family and the Bank of England, Barings never again reached the pre-eminent position it once held.
Barings assisted the Bank of the United States and an untold number of private firms, and was one of the major financial backers of the burgeoning American railroad industry.
BaringsPLC was once again playing upon the international stage as it had done during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Barings Bank, previously known as Baring Brothers and Co., was the oldest merchant banking company in England, having been founded in 1762 by Sir Francis Baring.
Barings collapsed on February 26, 1995, due to the activities of one trader, Nick Leeson, who lost $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange, primarily using futures contracts.
Barings was purchased by the Dutch bank/insurance company ING after its collapse for the nominal sum of £1 and assuming all of Barings liabilities and no longer has a separate corporate existence.
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