After Henry came onto the board of the Freedman’s Bank, he played a major role in investing its deposits. Seeking returns higher than the going rate on government bonds, Henry secured a change in the charter, turning the savings bank into an investment bank, which could make riskier investments. He moved funds into transcontinental railroad bonds. The bank also made dubious loans to political insiders whose security was often virtually worthless but whose influence the Cookes valued.
