In 1869 Mundella had joined the board of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. The company's business was to make advances to sheep-farming colonists in New Zealand and Australia on the security of their land and produce, and to help market that produce in Britain. It was a successful venture and Mundella's pecuniary interest prospered. Under newly-established rules, on becoming President of the Board of Trade in 1892 he relinquished all his directorships and thereafter had no control over the company's activities. In 1893, as a result of an economic downturn, the company was forced into liquidation and became the subject of a Board of Trade inquiry. Though Mundella was no longer a director and was innocent of any fault, a conflict of interest existed because the final decision on what further proceedings should follow a public investigation in court (in which Mundella gave evidence) would have to be made by Mundella himself as President of the Board of Trade. He was compromised, and his role as President became unsustainable.