Which New York trust company helped trigger the 1907 U.S. financial panic after a failed copper-market speculation?

The Knickerbocker Trust Company helped trigger the 1907 U.S. financial panic after a failed copper-market speculation.

In October 1907, financier F. Augustus Heinze and associates attempted to corner the stock of United Copper Company. The scheme failed, and investigations linked Heinze to banking institutions. Knickerbocker Trust president Charles T. Barney had connections to the group, causing depositors and counterparties to lose confidence.

A run on Knickerbocker began on October 22, 1907. The company could not obtain enough emergency support and suspended operations. Fear then spread to other trust companies and banks, producing severe pressure on New York's financial system and on stock prices.

J. Pierpont Morgan organized private-sector support with other bankers, while the U.S. Treasury supplied funds. The crisis helped build political support for a central bank, eventually contributing to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Knickerbocker was a trust company, not a commercial bank, which made its role distinctive in the panic.