A bank panic on September 18, 1873, led to a prolonged national depression, and by 1877 there were about three million unemployed, roughly 25 percent of the working population.

Black Monday, bank panics and, most of all, the Great Depression destroyed fortunes.

And another round of plunging currencies, especially if accompanied by a Japanese bank panic, could send U.S. markets into a tailspin.

That post bellum decade was ushered in by financial scandals, bank panics and a restructuring of the financial system.

American soldiers call the bank "riot bank," and it looked like a classic bank panic.

Then, just weeks into his tenure, a bank panic struck the nation; the effects bedeviled Van Buren, an apostle of laissez-faire, throughout his administration.

These entities' reliance on short-term debt to fund the purchase of oftentimes illiquid and risky assets made them susceptible to a classic bank panic.

Another, a cutback in the maximum deposit eligible for insurance, would clash directly with the objective of preventing bank panics and stabilizing the nation's money supply.

The interrelated contraction, bank panic and falling stock market resulted in significant economic disruption.

A banking panic or bank panic is a financial crisis that occurs when many banks suffer runs at the same time, as a cascading failure.