Barings Bank

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 Francis Baring, a British-born member of the German–British Baring family of merchants and bankers.

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. It is regarded as "one of the most historically significant trades of all time". Barings helped to finance the United States government during the War of 1812. By 1818, Barings was called "the sixth great European power", after England, France, Prussia, Austria and Russia. In the 1820s Barings ceded dominance in the City of London to the rival firm of N M Rothschild & Sons.

The bank collapsed in 1995 after suffering losses of £827 million (£1.6 billion in 2023) resulting from fraudulent investments, primarily in futures contracts, conducted by its employee Nick Leeson working at its office in Singapore.