Editing Barings Bank

{{short description|Defunct English merchant bank}}
{{Infobox company
|name       = Barings Bank
|logo       = Barings.png
|logo_size  = 187px
|industry   = [[Banking]]
|fate       = Collapsed<br />(Purchased for £1 by [[ING Group|ING]]).
|successors  = {{plainlist|
*[[ING Group]]
*[[Baring Asset Management]]
*[[Baring Private Equity Asia]]
*[[Baring Vostok Capital Partners]]
}}
|foundation = {{Start date and age|1762}}
|founder    = [[Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet|Sir Francis Baring, Bt]]
|defunct    = {{End date and age|df=yes|1995|2|26}}
|location   = [[London]], England
}}

'''Barings Bank''' was a British [[merchant bank]] based in London.  It was one of England's oldest merchant banks after [[Berenberg Bank]], Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by [[Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet|Francis Baring]], a British-born member of the German–British [[Baring family]] of merchants and bankers.<ref name="JamesReasonpg29">{{cite book|last=Reason|first=James|year=1997|title=Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Limited|pages=29}}</ref>{{sfnp|Hay|2024|pp=62–72}}

The bank collapsed in 1995 after suffering losses of £827 million (£{{Inflation|UK|.827|1995|r=1|fmt=c}} billion in {{inflation-year|UK}}){{inflation-fn|UK}} resulting from fraudulent investments, primarily in [[futures contract]]s, conducted by its employee [[Nick Leeson]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Barings Bank Case |url=https://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=4294968220 |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=www.fraud-magazine.com}}</ref> working at its office in [[Singapore]].

==History==
[[File:BaringBaringWall.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Sir Francis Baring (left), with brother John Baring and son-in-law Charles Wall, in a painting by [[Thomas Lawrence (painter)|Sir Thomas Lawrence]]]]

===1762–1889===
{{Main|Baring family}}

Barings Bank was founded in 1762 as the John and Francis Baring Company by [[Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet]], with his older brother [[John Baring (1730–1816)|John Baring]] as a mostly [[Partnership#Silent partners|silent partner.]]<ref name="Philip Ziegler 1988">{{cite book |author=Ziegler, Philip |title=The Sixth Great Power: Barings 1762–1929 |publisher=Collins |location=London |year=1988 |isbn=0-00-217508-8 |author-link=Philip Ziegler}}</ref> They were sons of [[Johann Baring|John (né Johann) Baring]], wool trader of [[Exeter]], born in [[Bremen]], [[Germany]]. The company started business in offices off [[Cheapside]] in London, and within a few years moved to larger quarters in [[Mincing Lane]].<ref name="ReferenceA">D. Kinaston. The [[City of London]], Volume I. London: Pimlico, 1994</ref> Barings gradually diversified from wool into many other commodities, providing financial services for the rapid growth of international trade, including the lucrative [[History of slavery|slave trade]] which enriched the family and the business considerably and allowed significant expansion of the bank's activities and prestige.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/United-Kingdom.pdf|title=Slave Routes|page=2|publisher=Breaking the Silence|access-date=11 December 2022}}</ref>{{sfnp|Hay|2024|pp=62–72}}

The success of Baring's was greatly influenced by establishment of a network of corresponding houses. One of the most valuable connections was [[Hope & Co.]], the most powerful merchant bank of [[Amsterdam]], at that time Europe's leading financial centre.<ref>Barings archives, DEP249.</ref> Hope & Co played a major part in the finances of the [[Dutch East India Company (VOC)]] and during the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–1763) [[Thomas Hope (1704–1779)|Thomas Hope]] and his brother Adria profited from the Netherlands' neutral position.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zbIjCQAAQBAJ&dq=Hope+&pg=PA688|title=At Spes non Fracta: Hope & Co. 1770–1815|first=Marten Gerbertus|last=Buist|year=2012|publisher=Springer|isbn=9789401188586 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

In 1774, Barings started business in North America.<ref name="BVAguilera"/> By 1790, Barings had greatly expanded its resources, both through Francis's efforts in London and by association with Hope & Co. In 1793, the increased business necessitated a move to larger quarters in Devonshire Square.<ref name=office>{{cite web|url=https://bankinghistory.org/wp-content/uploads/Barings.pdf|title=Architecture & Finance|page=2|publisher=The European Association for Banking and Financial History|year=2016}}</ref> In 1796, the bank helped to finance the purchase of about 1 million acres (4000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of remote land that became part of the US state of [[Maine]].<ref name="BVAguilera">{{cite web|last1=Aguilera|first1=Kristin|title=The British Bank That Forever Altered the U.S. Economy |date=22 January 2013 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2013-01-22/the-british-bank-that-forever-altered-the-u-s-economy|website=Bloomberg View|access-date=26 March 2017}}</ref>

In 1800, John retired and the company was reorganized as Francis Baring and Co.. Francis's new partners were his eldest son Thomas (later to be [[Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet]]) and son-in-law, Charles Wall. Then, in 1802, Barings and Hope & Co. were called on to facilitate the largest land purchase in history: the [[Louisiana Purchase]], which doubled the size of the United States.<ref name="BVAguilera"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Joseph A. Harriss |title=How the Louisiana Purchase Changed the World |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-louisiana-purchase-changed-the-world-79715124/ |access-date=20 September 2019 |work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |date=April 2003 |quote=He had contacts at Britain's Baring & Co. Bank, which agreed, along with several other banks}}</ref> It is regarded as "one of the most historically significant trades of all time".<ref name="BVAguilera"/> This was accomplished even though Britain was at war with France and the sale helped to finance [[Napoleon]]'s war effort. Technically, the United States purchased Louisiana from Barings and Hope, not from Napoleon.<ref name="Robert C. Alberts 1969">{{cite book |author=Alberts, Robert C. |title=The Golden Voyage |url=https://archive.org/details/goldenvoyage0000unse |url-access=registration |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |location=Boston |year=1969 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/goldenvoyage0000unse/page/423 423] }}</ref> Baring was willing to help Napoleon in the short term because he, and British politicians who backed him, predicted that American expansion into Louisiana would ensure Barings' profits in Britain.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UyyOAwAAQBAJ|title = Empire of Cotton: A Global History|last = Beckert|first = Sven|publisher = Knopf|year = 2014|location = New York|page=214| isbn=9780385353250 }}</ref> After a $3 million down payment in gold, the remainder of the purchase was made in United States bonds, which Napoleon sold to Barings through Hope & Co. of Amsterdam<ref>{{Cite news| url = https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2003/spring/louisiana-purchase.html |title=Jefferson Buys Louisiana Territory, and the Nation Moves Westward |author=Wayne T. De Cesar and Susan Page|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]] |date =Spring 2003}}</ref> at a price of $87.50 per $100 face value (a discount of one-eighth). Francis's second son [[Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton]], working for Hope & Co., made the arrangements in Paris with [[François Barbé-Marbois]], director of the Public Treasury. Alexander then sailed to the United States and back to pick up the bonds and deliver them to France.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs7GAwwdzyQC&pg=PA143|title=The Louisiana Purchase: A Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia|first= Junius P. |last=Rodriguez|year= 2002|page=143|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1576071885}}</ref>{{sfnp|Hay|2024|pp=89–138}}

In 1803, Francis began to withdraw from active management, bringing in Thomas's younger brothers Alexander and Henry to become partners in 1804. The new partnership was called Baring Brothers & Co., which it remained until 1890. The offspring of these three brothers became the future generations of Barings leadership. In 1806, the company relocated to 8 [[Bishopsgate]], where it stayed for the remaining life of the company. The building underwent several expansions and refurbishments,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> and was ultimately replaced with a new high-rise building in 1981.<ref name=office/>

Barings helped to finance the United States government during the [[War of 1812]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Hickey |first=Donald R. |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138230/donald-r-hickey/small-war-big-consequences |title= Small War, Big Consequences: Why 1812 Still Matters |work=[[Foreign Affairs]] |publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]] |date=November 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116043836/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138230/donald-r-hickey/small-war-big-consequences |archive-date=16 January 2013 |access-date=26 July 2014 }}</ref> By 1818, Barings was called "the sixth great European power", after England, France, Prussia, Austria and Russia.<ref name="BVAguilera"/> A fall-off in business and some poor leadership in 1820s caused Barings to cede its dominance in the City of London to the rival firm of [[N M Rothschild & Sons]]. Barings remained a powerful firm, however, and in the 1830s the leadership of new American partner [[Joshua Bates (financier)|Joshua Bates]], together with [[Thomas Baring (1799–1873)]], son of [[Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet]], began a turnaround. Bates advocated a shift in Barings' efforts from Europe to the Americas, believing that greater opportunity lay in the West. In 1832, a Barings office was established in Liverpool specifically to capitalise on new North American opportunities. In 1843, Barings became an exclusive agent to the US government.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eZkaMjTzBdcC&pg=PA75|title=The history of foreign investment in the United States to 1914|first= Mira|last= Wilkins|year=1989|page=75|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674396661}}</ref>

Barings was appointed by [[Sir Robert Peel]] to supply "Indian corn" ([[maize]]) to Ireland for famine relief between November 1845 and July 1846, after the staple potato crop failed. The company declined to act beyond 1846, when the government instructed it to restrict its purchases to within Britain. Baring Brothers stated it would refuse future commissions in famine relief, with the blame this could so easily entail. Its position as the prime purchaser of Indian corn was assumed by Erichson, a corn factor of Fenchurch St, London.<ref>''A Dictionary of Irish History'', D.J. Hickey & J.E.Doherty, Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1980.  p. 24. {{ISBN|0-7171-1567-4}}</ref>

In 1851, Baring and Bates brought in another American, [[Russell Sturgis (1805–1887)|Russell Sturgis]], as a partner. Despite the embarrassment to his partners caused by his sympathies for the South in the [[American Civil War]], Sturgis proved a capable banker. Baring did not deal in U.S. bonds, but it did help fund the American purchases of armaments.<ref>Jay Sexton, ''Debtor Diplomacy: Finance and American Foreign Relations in the Civil War Era, 1837–1873'' (Clarendon Press, 2005) p. 90</ref>  After the death of Bates in 1864, Sturgis gradually assumed a leadership role. In the 1850s and 1860s, the commercial credit business provided the firm with its basic income. Thomas Baring's nephew Edward, son of [[Henry Baring]], became a partner in 1856. By the 1870s, under the emerging leadership of "Ned" Baring, later [[Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke]], Barings were increasingly involved in international securities, especially from the United States, Canada, and Argentina. Barings cautiously and successfully ventured into the North American railroad boom following the Civil War. A new railroad town was renamed [[Revelstoke, British Columbia]], in honour of the leading partner of the bank that enabled the completion of the [[Canadian-Pacific Railway]]. Barings also helped to finance major railways including the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]].<ref name="BVAguilera"/>

"Ned Baring" had a daughter, [[Margaret Baring]], who was a great-grandmother of [[Diana, Princess of Wales]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://armorial.library.utoronto.ca/stamp-owners/SPE012|title=Spencer, Charles Robert, 6th Earl Spencer (1857–1922)|publisher=The Bibliographical Society of London|access-date=11 December 2022}}</ref>

In 1886, the bank helped broker the listing of the [[Guinness]] brewery.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Titcomb|first1=James|title=Barings: the collapse that erased 232 years of history|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11427501/Barings-the-collapse-that-erased-232-years-of-history.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11427501/Barings-the-collapse-that-erased-232-years-of-history.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=27 March 2017|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=23 February 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Panic of 1890===
In the late 1880s, daring efforts in underwriting got the firm into serious trouble through overexposure to Argentine and Uruguayan debt. In 1890, Argentine president [[Miguel Juárez Celman]] was forced to resign following the [[Revolución del Parque]], and the country was close to defaulting on its debt payments. This crisis finally exposed the vulnerability of Barings, which lacked sufficient reserves to support the Argentine bonds. Through the organisational skills of the governor of the Bank of England, [[William Lidderdale]], a consortium of banks was arranged, headed by former governor [[Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham|Henry Hucks Gibbs]] and his family firm of [[Antony Gibbs & Sons]], to bail Barings out and support a bank restructuring. The resulting turmoil in financial markets became known as the [[Panic of 1890]].<ref>Helga Drummond, ''The Dynamics of Organizational Collapse: The Case of Barings Bank'' (Routledge, 2008). </ref><ref>Mark Stein, "The risk taker as shadow: A psychoanlytic view of the collapse of Barings Bank." ''Journal of Management Studies'' 37.8 (2000): 1215-1230. </ref>

===Reduced role: 1891–1929===
[[File:Barings circular letter of credit 1892.jpg|thumb|A [[circular letter of credit]] issued by Baring Brothers in 1892 to US Senator [[George Hoar]] for £1000, a very large sum of money at the time.]]

The rescue avoided what could have been a worldwide financial collapse, but Barings never regained its dominant position. A [[limited liability company]]—Baring Brothers & Co., Ltd.—was formed, to which the viable business of the old partnership was transferred. The assets of the old house and several partners were taken over and liquidated to repay the rescue consortium, with guarantees provided by the Bank of England. Lord Revelstoke and others lost their partnerships along with their personal fortunes, which were pledged to support the bank. Nearly 10 years elapsed before the debts were paid. Revelstoke did not live to see this accomplished, dying in 1897.<ref name="Philip Ziegler 1988"/>

Barings did not return to issuance on a substantial scale until 1900, concentrating on securities in the United States and Argentina. It operated under the leadership of Edward's son [[John Baring, 2nd Baron Revelstoke]], in the early years of the 20th century. The company's restraint during this period cost it its pre-eminence in the world of finance, but later paid dividends when its refusal to take a chance on financing Germany's recovery from World War I saved it some of the most painful losses incurred by other British banks at the onset of the [[Great Depression]].<ref name="Philip Ziegler 1988" />

===1929–1992===
During the Second World War, the British government used Barings to liquidate assets in the United States and elsewhere to help finance the war effort. After the war, Barings was overtaken in size and influence by other banking houses, but remained an important player in the market until 1995.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wardsbookofdays.com|title=Barings Bank WW2 |publisher=Wardsbookofdays}}</ref>

The bank decided to enter the UK securities market buying Henderson Crosthwaite, a stockbroker, in May 1984 and Wilson & Watford, a stock jobber, in November 1985.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P6Z-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA341  |title=From Crisis to Crisis: The Transformation of Merchant Banking, 1914–1939|first= Brian|last=O'Sullivan|year=2018|page=341|publisher=Springer International Publishing|isbn=978-3319966984}}</ref>

===1992–1995===
Barings was brought down in 1995 by a massive trading loss caused by fraudulent trading by its head [[Derivative (finance)|derivatives]] trader in [[Singapore]] since 1992, [[Nick Leeson]]. Leeson was supposed to be [[arbitrage|arbitraging]], seeking to profit from differences in the prices of [[Nikkei 225]] futures contracts listed on the [[Osaka Securities Exchange]] in Japan and on the [[Singapore International Monetary Exchange]] (SIMEX). However, instead of buying on behalf of clients on one market and immediately selling on another market for a small profit, using the strategy approved by his superiors, Leeson started undertaking such trades using the bank's own money, gambling on the future direction of the Japanese markets.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://moneyweek.com/economy/people/601565/nick-leeson-the-man-who-broke-barings-bank|title=Nick Leeson: the man who broke Barings Bank|date=1 July 2020|newspaper=Money Week|access-date=11 December 2022}}</ref>

According to [[Edward George, Baron George|Eddie George]], Governor of the [[Bank of England]], Leeson began doing this at the end of January 1992. Due to a series of internal and external events, his unhedged losses escalated rapidly.<ref>{{Cite news
  |title=A Fallen Star
  | newspaper=[[The Economist]]
  |volume=334
  |issue=7904
  |pages=19–21
  |date=4 March 1995
|url=http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=13&sid=c651ab37-4191-4bf3-a275-e23e6ef543f7%40sessionmgr9
  }}</ref>

====Internal control====
Leeson was general manager for Barings' trading on SIMEX. Barings circumvented normal accounting, internal control and audit safeguards by making Leeson head of settlement operations for SIMEX, charged with ensuring accurate accounting for the unit. These positions would normally have been held by different employees. With authority to settle his own trades, Leeson was able to operate with no supervision from London—an arrangement that made it easier for him to hide his losses.<ref name="sungard">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.erisk.com/Learning/CaseStudies/Barings.asp 
 |title=Case Study : Barings 
 |publisher=Sungard Bancware Erisk 
 |access-date=18 November 2007 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017041450/http://www.erisk.com/Learning/CaseStudies/Barings.asp 
 |archive-date=17 October 2007 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref> After the collapse, several observers placed much of the blame on the bank's own deficient internal control and risk management practices. A number of people had raised concerns over Leeson's activities but were ignored.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://riskencyclopedia.com/articles/barings_debacle/|title=Barings debacle|publisher=Risk Encyclopedia|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703235630/http://riskencyclopedia.com/articles/barings_debacle/|archive-date=3 July 2014}}</ref>

====Corruption====
Because of the absence of oversight, Leeson was able to make seemingly small gambles in the futures [[arbitrage]] market at Barings Futures Singapore and cover up his shortfalls by reporting losses as gains to Barings in London. Specifically, Leeson altered the branch's error account, subsequently known by its account number 88888 as the "five-eights account", to prevent the London office from receiving the standard daily reports on trading, price and status. Leeson claimed the losses started when one of his colleagues bought 20 contracts when she should have sold them, costing Barings £20,000.<ref>{{cite news|date=24 February 1996|title=The man who broke the queen's bank|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/the-man-who-broke-the-queen-s-bank-1.31807}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=19 August 2012|title=Barings rogue trader Nick Leeson: 'Money is not my motivation'|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/fameandfortune/9483379/Barings-rogue-trader-Nick-Leeson-Money-is-not-my-motivation.html}}</ref>

By December 1994, Leeson had cost Barings £200 million. He reported to [[HMRC|British tax authorities]] a £102 million profit. If the company had uncovered his true financial dealings then, collapse might have been avoided as Barings still had £350 million of capital.<ref name="investig">{{cite web
 |year=1995 
 |url=http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Bulletin/bu_nov95/bu_1195_1.pdf 
 |title=Implications of the Barings Collapse for Bank Supervisors 
 |publisher=Reserve Bank of Australia 
 |access-date=18 November 2007 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901054955/http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Bulletin/bu_nov95/bu_1195_1.pdf 
 |archive-date=1 September 2007 
 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref>

====Kobe earthquake====
Using the hidden five-eights account, Leeson began to trade aggressively in futures and options on SIMEX. His decisions routinely resulted in losses of substantial sums and he used money entrusted to the bank by subsidiaries for use in their own accounts. He falsified trading records in the bank's computer systems and used money intended for margin payments on other trading. As a result, he appeared to be making substantial profits.  However, his luck ran out when the [[Great Hanshin earthquake|Kobe earthquake]] upset the Asian financial markets—and with them, Leeson's investments. Leeson bet on a rapid recovery by the Nikkei, which failed to materialise.<ref name="time">{{cite magazine|author=Howard Chua-Eoan |year=2007 |url=http://www.time.com/time/2007/crimes/18.html |title=The Collapse of oBarings Bank, 1995 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=18 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116030228/http://www.time.com/time/2007/crimes/18.html |archive-date=16 November 2007 }}</ref>

====Discovery====
On 23 February 1995, Leeson left Singapore to fly to [[Kuala Lumpur]]. Barings Bank auditors discovered the fraud around the time that Barings' chairman Peter Baring received a confession note from Leeson. Leeson's activities had generated losses totalling £827 million ($1.3 billion), twice the bank's available trading capital. The collapse cost another £100 million.<ref name="investig"/> The Bank of England attempted an unsuccessful weekend bailout,<ref name="JamesReason">{{cite book|last=Reason|first=James|year=1997|title=Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Limited|pages=28–34}}</ref> and employees around the world did not receive their bonuses. Barings was declared insolvent on 26 February 1995, and administrators began managing the finances of Barings Group and its subsidiaries.<ref name="Report"/> The same day, the Board of Banking Supervision of the Bank of England launched an investigation led by Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer; its report was released on 18 July 1995.<ref name="Report">{{cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/235622/0673.pdf|title=Return to an order of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 18 July 1995 for the Report of the Board of Banking Supervision inquiry into the circumstances of the collapse of Barings|location=London|publisher=HMSO|date=18 July 1995|access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref> Leeson was captured in Frankfurt on 2 March and extradited to Singapore on 23 November, 272 days after fleeing.  He was sentenced to six years and six months imprisonment, served in Singapore's [[Changi Prison]], for his wrongdoings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guilty As Charged: Rogue trader Nick Leeson brought down Britain's oldest merchant bank Barings|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/guilty-as-charged-rogue-trader-nick-leeson-brought-down-britains-oldest|date=15 May 2016|access-date=30 October 2021|website=The Straits Times}}</ref>

====Aftermath====
Dutch bank [[ING Group|ING]] purchased Barings Bank in 1995 for the nominal sum of £1<ref name="time"/> and took over all of Barings' liabilities, forming the subsidiary ING Barings. In 2001, ING sold the US-based operations to [[ABN Amro]] for $275 million and folded the rest of ING Barings into its European banking division.<ref name="amrosale">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/31/business/world-business-briefing-europe-more-restructuring-by-ing-group.html |title=World Business Briefing: Europe; More Restructuring by ING Group |last=Kapner |first=Suzanne |date=31 January 2001 |access-date=26 November 2007 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> This left only the asset management division, [[Barings Asset Management|Baring Asset Management]]. In March 2005, BAM was split and sold by ING to [[MassMutual]], which acquired BAM's investment management activities and the rights to use the Baring Asset Management name, and [[Northern Trust]], which acquired BAM's Financial Services Group.<ref name="bamsplit">{{cite web |url=http://www.ing.com/group/showdoc.jsp?menopt=&docid=092370_EN&lang=en|title=ING Group agrees to sell Baring Asset Management |date=22 November 2004 |access-date=26 November 2007 |publisher=ING Group| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071210170734/http://www.ing.com/group/showdoc.jsp?menopt=&docid=092370_EN&lang=en| archive-date= 10 December 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="bbcbamsplit">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4031649.stm |title=ING ends link with Baring name  |date=22 November 2004 |access-date=26 November 2007 |work=BBC News| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071023215653/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4031649.stm| archive-date= 23 October 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> Barings Bank no longer has a separate corporate existence, although the ''Barings'' name still lives on as the MassMutual subsidiary Baring Asset Management.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baring-asset.com/code/uk/index.hcst|title=Baring Asset Management|access-date=2008-01-02|archive-date=2007-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227184721/http://www.baring-asset.com/code/uk/index.hcst|url-status=dead}}</ref> In March 2016, a merger was announced with other asset management subsidiaries of MassMutual, creating a new "Barings" headquartered in Charlotte, NC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barings.com/news/press-releases/massmutuals-institutional-asset-management-affiliates-babson-barings-cornerstone-and-wood-creek-announce-plans-to-combine|title=Mass Mutual Asset Management Affiliates Announce Plans to Combine|date=March 2016|access-date=2017-10-31|archive-date=2017-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012745/http://www.barings.com/news/press-releases/massmutuals-institutional-asset-management-affiliates-babson-barings-cornerstone-and-wood-creek-announce-plans-to-combine|url-status=dead}}</ref> Baring Private Equity International was acquired by its respective management teams, which today include [[Baring Vostok Capital Partners]] in Russia, [[GP Investments]] in Brazil, [[Baring Private Equity Asia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bpeasia.com/|title=Home|date=23 August 2015|website=bpeasia.com}}</ref> and Baring Private Equity Partners India.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bpepindia.com/|title=Baring Private Equity Partners India|first=Baring Private Equity Partners|last=India|website=www.bpepindia.com}}</ref>

==The Baring Foundation==
The Baring Foundation was established in 1969 as a charitable foundation, which survived the collapse of Barings Bank and in 2019 celebrated its 50th anniversary.  By 2019 the foundation had provided £120 million in grant funding.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cdn.baringfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/A-history-of-the-Baring-Foundation-in-50-grants_final.pdf|title=A history of the Baring Foundation in fifty grants|publisher=Baring Foundation|access-date=12 September 2023}}</ref>

==In popular culture and fiction==
On 5 April 2007, ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper reported that [[KPMG]], the liquidators of Barings, had sold a [[trading jacket]] thought to have been worn by Nick Leeson while trading on SIMEX in Singapore. The jacket was offered for sale on [[eBay]] but it failed to reach its reserve price despite a highest bid of £16,100. It was subsequently sold for £21,000.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/apr/05/money1 | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Nick Leeson's jacket raises £21,000 | first=Graeme | last=Wearden | date=5 April 2007 | access-date=26 April 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100403235026/http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/apr/05/money1| archive-date= 3 April 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> In October 2007 a similar jacket used by Leeson's team but not thought to have been worn by Leeson himself sold at auction for £4,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.norwood.org.uk/contact-us/pr-media/newsarchive/2007/Fundraising+News/distressed_investing_dinner_2007.htm|title=Distressed investing dinner 2007|date=July 2016|access-date=10 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721185359/http://www.norwood.org.uk/contact-us/pr-media/newsarchive/2007/Fundraising+News/distressed_investing_dinner_2007.htm|archive-date=21 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Fiction===
The 1999 film ''[[Rogue Trader (film)|Rogue Trader]]'' is a fictionalized account of the bank's downfall based upon Leeson's autobiography ''[[Rogue Trader: How I Brought Down Barings Bank and Shook the Financial World]]''.<ref>{{Citation | title = Risky business | newspaper = [[The Guardian]] | date = 8 June 1999 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/jun/08/comment | access-date = 23 February 2012}}</ref>

In the historical novel ''[[Stone's Fall]]'' (2009) by [[Iain Pears]], Barings and its role in the [[Baring crisis|Panic of 1890]] play a significant part in the story's structure.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/books/book-review-stone-s-fall-by-iain-pears-1-1037332 |title=Book review: Stone's Fall, by Iain Pears |date=7 May 2009 |work=[[The Scotsman]] |access-date=26 February 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

In the novel ''[[Around the World in Eighty Days]]'' (1872) by [[Jules Verne]], [[Phileas Fogg]]'s bet is guaranteed by a cheque for £20,000 drawn on Barings Bank:

<blockquote>As today is Wednesday, the 2nd of October, I shall be due in London in this very room of the Reform Club, on Saturday, the 21st of December, at a quarter before nine p.m.; or else the twenty thousand pounds, now deposited in my name at Barings, will belong to you, in fact and in right, gentlemen. Here is a cheque for the amount.<ref>{{Gutenberg | no=103 | name=Around the World in Eighty Days |bullet=none}}</ref></blockquote>

In the song "When you're lying awake" from the operetta ''[[Iolanthe]]'' (1882) by [[Gilbert and Sullivan]], Barings is mentioned towards the end (as Baring, together with Rothschild).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/iolanthe/web_op/iol20.html|title=When You're Lying Awake (lyrics)|publisher=Boise State University|access-date=3 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007001831/http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/iolanthe/web_op/iol20.html|archive-date=7 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Banks}}
* [[CITIC Pacific#2008 foreign exchange losses controversy]]
* [[Leonard Ingrams]], former [[Managing Director]] and founder of [[Garsington Opera]].
* [[List of trading losses]]
* ''[[Re Barings plc (No.5)]]'' [1999] 1 BCLC 433
* ''[[Rogue Trader (film)|Rogue Trader]]'' – 1999 film starring Ewan McGregor
* [[1992 Indian stock market scam]] 
* [[NSE co-location scam]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Drummond |first=Helga |title=The Dynamics of Organizational Collapse: The Case of Barings Bank |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-415-39961-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Fay |first=Stephen |title=The Collapse of Barings |publisher=W. W. Norton |location=New York |year=1997 |isbn=0-393-04055-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/collapseofbaring00fays }}
* {{cite book |last1=Gapper|first1=John |last2=Denton |first2=Nicholas |title=All That Glitters: The Fall of Barings |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |location=London |year=1995 |isbn=0-241-13699-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hay |first=Mark Edward|year=2024 |title=Transatlantic Finance in the Age of Revolutions. Hope, Baring, and the Financing of the Sale and Purchase of Louisiana. |location=Cham, Switzerland |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-65232-5 |isbn=978-3-031-65231-8  |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-65232-5 }}.
* Herring, Richard J. "BCCI & Barings: Bank Resolutions Complicated by Fraud and Global Corporate Structure." in ''Systemic Financial Crises: Resolving Large Bank Insolvencies'' pp (2005): 321-345. [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.477.796&rep=rep1&type=pdf online]
* {{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=Luke |last2=Heinrich |first2= Karen |title=Barings Lost: Nick Leeson and the Collapse of Barings Plc. |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann Asia |location=Singapore |year=1996 |isbn=981-00-6802-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Jacque |first=Laurent L. |title=Global Derivative Debacles: From Theory to Malpractice |place=Singapore |publisher=World Scientific |year=2010 |isbn=978-981-283-770-7 |at=Chapter 10: "Barings", pp.&nbsp;143–178}}
* Körnert, Jan. "The Barings crises of 1890 and 1995: causes, courses, consequences and the danger of domino effects." ''Journal of International financial markets, institutions and money'' 13.3 (2003): 187-209.
* {{cite book |last1=Leeson|first1=Nicholas William |last2=Whitley |first2=Edward |title=Rogue Trader: How I Brought down Barings Bank and Shook the Financial World |title-link=Rogue Trader (book) |publisher=[[Little, Brown]] |location=Boston |year=1996 |isbn=0-316-51856-5}}
* Mezrich, Ben (2004). ''Ugly Americans''. New York: HarperCollins. {{ISBN|0-06-057500-X}}.
* {{cite book |last1=Rawnsley |first1=Judith H. |last2=Leeson |first2=Nicholas William |title=Total Risk: Nick Leeson and the Fall of Barings Bank |publisher=Harper Business |location=New York |year=1995 |isbn=0-88730-781-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/totalrisknicklee00rawn }}
* Read, Charles. (2023). ''Calming the Storms: The Carry Trade, the Banking School and British Financial Crises Since 1825.'' Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 268−270.
* {{cite book |author=Ziegler, Philip |author-link=Philip Ziegler |title=The Sixth Great Power: Barings 1762–1929 |publisher=Collins |location=London |year=1988 |isbn=0-00-217508-8}}

==External links==
* [http://www.baringarchive.org.uk/ The Baring Archive]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031418/http://www.numa.com/ref/barings/ "The Collapse of Barings Bank"]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/f/fay-collapse.html "The Collapse of Barings"] ''[[The New York Times]]''
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/finance-obituaries/6266592/Sir-Miles-Rivett-Carnac-Bt.html "Sir Miles Rivett-Carnac, Bt"] – ''Daily Telegraph'' obituary
* [http://www.risksandrewards.org.uk/background_history_100.html The story of Barings bank]
* [http://www.risksandrewards.org.uk/timeline.php Timeline of Barings bank]
* [http://www.risksandrewards.org.uk/background_history_132.html Barings – the people]

{{Corporate scandals|state=collapsed}}
{{Merchant banking private equity groups}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Defunct banks of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Banks established in 1762]]
[[Category:Corporate scandals]]
[[Category:Rogue trading banks]]
[[Category:Crime in Singapore]]
[[Category:Former investment banks]]
[[Category:Economic history of Singapore]]
[[Category:Economic history of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:ING Group]]
[[Category:Banks disestablished in 1995]]
[[Category:Baring family| Barings Bank]]
[[Category:1762 establishments in Great Britain]]
[[Category:Bank failures]]
[[Category:Accounting scandals]]
[[Category:Banks of Devon]]
[[Category:British companies disestablished in 1995]]