October 31, 2025
Bloomberg recently published an article featuring Mark Williams, Master Lecturer of Finance, discussing the Haunted NYC Bank, an interactive Halloween attraction set in a vacant National City Bank branch in Lower Manhattan. The experience highlights the building’s history as a symbol of 1920s financial excess, when the bank’s aggressive lending and promotion of stock speculation helped spark the 1929 crash and the Great Depression.
Williams draws a cautionary parallel to today’s private credit market, now a $3 trillion, largely unregulated sector. He warns that risky loans made by private credit institutions—often funded by banks—could pose systemic risks as the economy softens.
“ The big unknown is, what is the level of the hit? This market is not transparent, so we can only guess,” Williams adds.
While visitors enjoy the spooky attractions, the haunted house underscores both historical and contemporary financial risks.
