Baring Brothers and the Birth of Modern Finance
Peter E Austin
Financial History
978 1 85196 922 7: 216x138mm: £60.00/$99.00
Utilizing British and American archives, Austin charts Baring Brothers' development from wool merchants to one of the most powerful global financial institutions. Throughout the nineteenth century, the company grew in tandem with the British Empire. It invested heavily in developing markets in Asia, Africa and South America, both supporting the British administration and opening up new areas for colonial expansion. By the end of the century, it was said that Britain had established an empire in South America by capital alone.
In 1995, the company collapsed over a weekend, brought down by the 'rogue trader' Nick Leeson. In the first history of Baring Brothers to be written since its collapse, Austin analyses the errors which led to its downfall and places them in the context of the company's illustrious history.
Sample pages
- Baring Brothers and the Birth of Modern Finance: Introduction
- Baring Brothers and the Birth of Modern Finance: Index
Readership
Financial History, Twentieth-Century Studies
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Growth of Confidence (1763–1828)
Establishment and Early Reputation-Building; Barings and America; Troubles of 1825 and Reorganization of the Partnership
Chapter 2: Opportunity and System (1828–30)
Foreign Investor Interest in the United States; General Domestic and Foreign Trade Profile; Credit Arrangements and Trade Mechanics; The New Partnership; Rules and Principles
Chapter 3: Good Timing (1830–2)
Cornerstone Connections; Trough Opportunities and British Malaise; A Worldwide System; The Deferred Threes; Barings Makes a Deal;
Chapter 4: Silver Linings (1832–4)
Impediments to Business; Continued American Expansion; Jackson, the Bank and Money Disruption; Barings’ First Trimming
Chapter 5: Changing Too Soon (1835–6)
American Demand Unbound (1835); Ward’s Urgings; The House Waits; Barings’ Second Trimming; America Moves ‘Too Fast’; London’s Restraint and Jackson’s Gold; Threadneedle Street Awakes
Chapter 6: Barings Alone (1837–9)
Tense Calm; Assistance Amidst Collapse; Van Buren Holds Firm; Aftermath; Conclusion; More Reform; Who to Blame; Well Informed People Make Poor Decisions; Good Timing; Competitors’ Risky Behavious; Panic’s Effect on Barings
Epilogue: Argentina and Singapore (1890, 1995)
Argentina: 1890; Singapore: 1995; Pride Maintained
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