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.

The board of Knickerbocker Trust asked Barney to resign after he admitted involvement in the F. Augustus Heinze and Charles W. Morse speculations.

The failure of the Knickerbocker was the impetus for the Panic of 1907,[8][9] and exacerbated an ongoing decline in the stock market that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average lose 48% of its value from January 1906 to November 1907.

[12] Foster made public statements, including one following the death of Barney, that greatly embarrassed the Rehabilitation Committee under F.G. Bourne and William A. Tucker that was trying to get the trust company on its feet again.

He served in that role for less than a year until he was appointed to the New York Public Service Commission, from which he resigned in 1908 to become president of the Knickerbocker.

[16] In February 1903, Knickerbocker Trust acquired the Washington Bank, afterwards opening a branch in the seven-story Smith Building at 148th Street and Third Avenue in the Bronx Financial District.

[29] 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.

[11] The Stanford White building was enlarged by ten stories in 1921, and the façade completely redesigned in 1958, with its signature pilasters covered over; it still remains, its original form unrecognizable.