The 1866 London Crash That Bankrupted Overend Gurney

In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the collapse of Overend, Gurney & Co in 1866 — the bank that was 'too big to fail' before the phrase existed. They trace how a single discount house, the largest in England, grew so dominant that its failure triggered a run on the entire London banking system and forced the Bank of England to refuse a bailout. The episode walks through the specific numbers: Overend Gurney's £19 million in liabilities, the Bank of England's initial £4 million loan offer, and the eventual panic that shut down 200 banks. Lucas and Luna also discuss the parallels to 2008 — and where the Victorian response was actually tougher than ours. #OverendGurney #1866Panic #BankingCrisis #TooBigToFail #BankOfEngland #VictorianFinance #DiscountHouse #FinancialHistory #LondonStockExchange #LimitedLiability #WalterBagehot #LenderOfLastResort #Economics #Business #EconomicHistory #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #LessonsFromHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo