February 26: Barings Bank collapsed (1995)

Barings Bank was the oldest merchant bank in London until its collapse in 1995 due to a series of speculative investment involving futures contracts, managed by Nick Leeson of its Singapore office, which resulted in a loss of £827 million ($1.3 billion). Barings Bank was founded in 1762 and had survived financial crises such as the Great Depression and World Wars. The bank had been playing an important role in the British financial market until the collapse. The corruption and greed were one of the main causes of the failure. The bank was acquired by ING Group of the Netherlands.