Barings Bank, which financed historic endeavors such as the Louisiana Purchase and building of the North American railroad network in the 19th century, is the subject of a new museum exhibit.
The exhibit, entitled “Barings in America: An Interactive Investment Experience,” commemorates the 250th anniversary of the bank's founding and opens tomorrow at the Museum of American Finance at 48 Wall Street in New York City.
During its long tenure, Barings saw its share of both tremendous gains and miscalculated debacles. After unauthorized trading by an employee lost the bank $1.3 billion in 1995, Barings collapsed. The bank’s legacy now lives on through The Baring Archive.
The museum, on the corner of Wall and William streets in lower Manhattan, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.The exhibit will be on view through April 27.
“Barings in America” provide details about Barings’ significant U.S. investments and their contributions to the growth of the nation and its industry. Designed as an investment game with a mobile component, visitors will be invited to participate in five of the bank’s American investments.
Visitors will be able to examine the same documents used by Barings to evaluate its historic investments. Based on information provided in the exhibit, the visitors will decide whether to invest in each venture and compete against the investment performance of other visitors and the bank.