When the new partnership decided to recommit the House to the United States trade, it did so after a period of sluggish profits and little growth in its capital base. In 1828, commission and acceptance income were half the levels of 1825. The profit and loss account – including expenses from all parts of the business – remained positive but erratic, with firm-wide profits failing to increase year over year until the early 1830s.

Barings’ expansion in the United States was not unusual. The other six so-called ‘American Houses’ were also doing so aggressively. In 1828 in fact, Joshua Bates reported during a brief trip to the United States that he had counted thirty-five agents from different parts of Europe in New York City alone. The United States was attractive for many reasons to British businessmen. It could serve as a haven from the problems of Europe, or as a diversifier for a firm looking to add another market to an existing portfolio.

Alexander was a cautious man who hired carefully for the firm his father had all but founded. Barings headed back to the United States amidst great changes in the Anglo-American trade and investment environment. The new men in management felt compelled to develop rules in the late 1820s so they would not incur injury – always remembering the irregularities the firm had encountered before they came on board.