Barings Brothers & Company

City: London, England

The powerful London merchant bank of Baring Brothers & Company grew out of earlier firms founded by members of the Baring family. At the end of 1762, brothers Charles, Francis, and John Baring formed the connected partnerships of John and Francis Baring & Company in London, and John and Charles Baring & Company in Exeter. Under Francis Baring’s leadership, the London firm grew steadily and made significant connections with merchant banking firms across Europe and in North America. The connection between the two partnerships was dissolved by Francis in 1777, and John retired as silent partner of John and Francis Baring & Company in 1800. Four years later Francis himself retired, and his sons Alexander, Henry, and Thomas Baring moved into leadership roles, renaming the firm Baring Brothers & Company in 1807. Beginning in 1803, the firm that became Baring Brothers & Co. served as the London agent for the United States government, and continued to provide the United States credit during the War of 1812. In 1817, the firm was selected to be the London agent for the Bank of the United States. During the Civil War, the firm continued to do business with the United States federal government and advanced credit for the purchase of arms.

Philip Ziegler, The Sixth Great Power: Barings 1762–1929 (London: Collins, 1988), 13-48, 74-75, 151-52, 214; John Orbell, “Baring, Francis,” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 3:829-35; John Orbell, “Baring, Alexander,” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 3:815-18.