Knickerbocker Trust Company

The Knickerbocker Trust was an American bank based in New York. It was at one time among the largest banks in the United States and it became a central player in the Panic of 1907. The Knickerbocker was essentially a deciding factor upon the Panic of 1907, the cost of the Knickerbocker Trust company was the withdrawals of incredulous amounts of money from New York City banks

The bank was chartered in 1884 by Frederick G. Eldridge, a friend and classmate of financier J.P. Morgan. As a trust company, its main business was serving as trustee for individuals, corporations and estates. Eldridge was the founding president; he was succeeded in the 1890s by Robert MacClay, with Charles Tracy Barney as vice president. When MacClay retired in 1897, Barney was elected president. The New York City bank was housed in a Roman-style temple designed by McKim, Mead, and White and erected between 1902 and 1904 (illustrated) at the northwest corner of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue.Stanford White's design allowed for the possibility of adding nine storeys of offices upon the structure, but they were never realized. It had branch offices at 60 Broadway, in Harlem and The Bronx.

In 1907, its funds were being used by then-president Charles T. Barney in a plan to drive up the cost of copper by cornering the market. This gamble came undone due to the dumping of millions of dollars in copper into the market to stop a hostile takeover in an unrelated organization. This became public, and on October 21, 1907 the National Bank of Commerce announced that it would no longer accept checks for the Knickerbocker Trust Company, triggering a run of depositors demanding their funds back. Charles Barney requested a meeting with J.P. Morgan to discuss financial assistance for the bank, but was rejected. Shortly after, he shot himself on November 14, 1907.

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