The Panic of 1884 was a panic during the Recession of 1882-85. Gold reserves of Europe were depleted and the New York City national bank

National bank

In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings:* especially in developing countries, a bank owned by the state* an ordinary private bank which operates nationally...

s, with tacit approval of the United States Treasury Department, halted investments in the rest of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and called in outstanding loans. A larger crisis was averted when New York Clearing House

New York Clearing House

The New York Clearing House Association, the nation’s first and largest bank clearing house, was created in 1853, and has played a variety of important roles in supporting the development of the banking system in America’s financial capital. Initially, it was created to simplify the chaotic...

 bailed out banks in risk of failure. Nevertheless, the investment firm Grant & Ward, Marine Bank of New York, and Penn Bank of Pittsburgh along with more than 10,000 small firms failed.