Which trust company's downfall was central to the Panic of 1907?

The Knickerbocker Trust Company’s downfall was central to the Panic of 1907.

Knickerbocker was New York City’s third-largest trust company and had grown rapidly in an era when trusts operated with fewer safeguards than commercial banks. Its president, Charles T. Barney, had financial connections to speculators Charles W. Morse and F. Augustus Heinze, whose circle was linked to the failed United Copper corner.

After the corner collapsed, confidence in Knickerbocker deteriorated. The National Bank of Commerce announced on October 21 that it would no longer clear the company’s checks, and depositors formed a run the next day. In less than three hours, about $8 million was withdrawn, forcing Knickerbocker to suspend operations.

The failure spread fear to other trust companies, including the Trust Company of America and Lincoln Trust. Knickerbocker eventually reopened and paid depositors in full, but its collapse transformed a failed stock scheme into a broader crisis. The event is why the panic is also called the Knickerbocker Crisis.