Barings bank, previously known as Baring Brothers & Co. is the oldest merchant banking company in England having been founded in 1762.
Baring was made famous after its collapse due to the activities of one trader, Nick Leeson. This was the second time Barings had faced bankruptcy the first being in 1890 when a significant amount of investment was lost in South America following the argentinan revolution, however at that time they were bailed out by the Bank of England and other London banks.
Nick Leeson's autobiography of the event leading up to the collapse were dramatized in the movie Rogue Trader.