Customer Reviews

Rogue Trader

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As it turns out, Nick Leeson does not seem to be a terrible guy, although he single-handedly caused the collapse of one of the oldest banks in the world in early 1995, Barings Bank. I just don't understand how he could let the 88888 account continue for so long once the losses started building. Why not confess? What started with some mistakes and an attempt to hide them soon took on a life of its own and grew out of control. Sure, Barings should have had more internal controls and could have monitored Leeson better, but to think that a young kid from suburban London would outwardly forge reports and signatures to cover his trail is unbelievable. It was fraud and he knew it.

This book is an interesting account of the collapse of one of Britain's oldest and most powerful merchant banks by Nick Leeson while trading derivatives on the Singapore, Nikkei and Osaka stock exchanges. Leeson recreated conversations and the year leading up to his capture with amazing detail, all of which makes for interesting reading. I was interested in the underlying reasons for the collapse of Barings, and thus, the book did drag on a bit. But once Leeson realized he would be discovered and fled Singapore with his wife in late February 1995, the story really got exciting. All in all, an interesting self-account of how covering one's mistakes will lead to lies upon lies, which, as it did with Leeson, will ultimately lead to disaster.

If you want to know the reasons and the background of the fall of Barings bank, I recommend it. You will be surprised what were the levels of control at that time in the most respectful bank in Europe and in the world. Nowadays it's really hard to imagine that one simple back office manager could lead the whole bank giant into trashes. Good reading and relaxing with a flair of adventure.

The tale of Nick Leeson's catastrophic trading that brought about the collapse of Baring's bank is perhaps the most famous scandal in banking history. It is also an absolutely fascinating read. Although the film version of the story is gripping and intense, nothing can compare to the written word when portraying the terror, panic and inner turmoil that Leeson went through as his 88888 account losses spun out of control.

Far from being a cold clinical recounting of a messy financial scandal, Leeson's book is a far more personal tale. The stories about his struggles at Barings are interspersed with tales about his personal life in Singapore as well as his marriage to his wife Lisa. Indeed as his professional problems began to mount, Lisa became increasingly the rock that he clung to for salvation.

Some of the ways in which Leeson's actions went undetected are simply mind boggling. It is astonishing that some of the higher ups at Barings didn't get prosecuted for criminal negligence, but I suppose that's the way of the business world. Even if you have already seen the movie, I wouuld strongly advise you to read this fascinating book, as it is impossible to beat the written account of Leeson's roller coaster ride.

Over 350 pages (small pages)and easy to read, chronological and a little funny. Entertaining and very detailed account of what Nick Leeson did to cause Baring's Bank to collapse. I would have liked the book more if Nick described his trading in the pit more in his career than just when he was doubling down on his huge losses at the very end. He shows several official statements from authorities and people at the bank. Many people around him were described. I recommend this book to anyone interested in futures trading, bond trading or the Baring's collapse.

Rogue Trader is a well written, fast paced, intimate first hand apologetic of Nicky Leeson's dealings on the Simex trading floor in Singapore and how he managed to run up huge losses to the tune of £600 million without anyone noticing and breaking one of England's oldest merchant banks. In a world where Jerome Kerviel loses EUR4.9 billion on the back of EUR49.9 billion in unauthorized trades for Société Générale , Bernie Madoff runs a US$50 billion Ponzi scheme, where Lehman Brothers no longer exists and AIG is bailed out by the US government for US$180 billion, the "small" affair of losing £600 million in unapproved futures trades and options gambling doesn't seem so terrible, but it was enough to break one of the oldest merchant banks in the UK and create one of the hugest scandals in banking history at the time. Since Leeson broke Barings, many other financial catastrophes and corporate scandals (Long Term Capital Management, Enron, the dot com bubble and sub-prime mortgages to name a few) have come and gone and some remain with us today. Perhaps these events make Rogue Trader even more relevant today than ever.

It seems ironic that in this account of his misdeeds Mr. Leeson comes across as being incredibly honest about his fraud and his crimes. He doesn't shy away from the things he did and admits that he, and he alone is to blame for the catastrophe that befell Barings. He offers excuses (loyalty to the team, covering up their mistakes etc.) but ultimately the book is clear: once the initial deficit in the famed 88888 error account was cleared, greed to generate large profits on a risky futures spread led to the spiraling effect that eventually accrued severe losses for Barings and finally led to their downfall.

Mr. Leeson's account is also clear about the failings in the system and clear on what could have been done to prevent the losses he had accrued over the time he was doing it. I suppose it is easy in retrospect to question why someone would so easily transfer the tens of millions of pounds on a daily basis to cover margin calls, when the capital base of the bank was only a couple of hundred million. It is also hard to believe how it was possible for him to cover his tracks with lies about unauthorized over the counter deals without those deals being properly audited and investigated. Certainly the blame for the high-risk trading falls squarely on Mr. Leeson's shoulders. He doesn't shy away from it and doesn't hide from it, but there were clearly severe structural faults within the bank and no effective risk-management methodologies employed to ensure honesty in the traders and especially to grant oversight to Mr. Leeson. The greatest weakness in the system was Mr. Leeson being granted the right to manage the trading floor and the back office where trades where reconciled. He even admitted this was open to being corrupted and auditors even noted this was a structural weakness, but they never did close the hole. These structural flaws were noted in the book and as per Mr. Leeson, when reports were released by the Singaporean government, many of these flaws were exposed and blame spread across the board for failure to take note of what was going on.

Rogue Trader also has its tender moments. There is no doubt that Mr. Leeson was deeply in love with his wife at the time and there is no doubt that when they were on the run in Malaysia and Brunei there seemed to be genuine affection and love. Mr. Leeson speaks very highly of Lisa and even though they have since divorced, Rogue Trader shows the affection and passion he had for her and she had for him. Some of the moments they shared were truly touching and should not be second guessed. His portrayal of their relationship was an honest one and never, throughout the book is there a bad word said about Lisa (not that I can remember anyway). He truly loved her and she was in my mind amazing to stand by him through the initial troubles and trials he had to endure.

Rogue Trader is therefore a very personal, very real and very honest account of what happened and what caused the bank to crash. Some parts are amusing, others tragic. It is still a fantastic read 15 years after the fact. Since this book was published, Mr. Leeson has served his time in a Singaporean prison, survived colon cancer, remarried, has written a second book and is now the CEO of a football club. In Rogue Trader Mr. Leeson portrays himself as someone who was haunted by his shadows and who was relieved when they were exposed so he could once again walk in the light. Others who failed to provide proper oversight, could not. Some of those protagonists have reignited their careers (e.g. Peter Norris who was the head of Barings Investment Division is now chairman of the Virgin Group) but many did not. Mr. Leeson, as he says in public talks, will always be remembered as the man who broke Barings Bank, but he has moved on with his life and I for one am glad for him.

Must read if interested in Investments; shows an historic fact of finances: Barings fall. When written by the man who made possible such a tragic incident, for bankers as for investors, it becomes a thriller. Shows the real trading.

This is a truly captivating book for all who have an interest in financial markets. As an insight into how large financial institutions operate, it is a must read for auditors, students and managers in how not to run a business. The pace is fast with the onsetting panic of Leeson being palpable as he races towards the inevitable crash. The Ewan McGregor movie obviously stuck close to the book, but if you have already seen the film it will not distract from the book which adds more layers of complexity to the story. Well written, amazing insights and some thoughtful life lessons given.

The obvious greed - albeit encouraged by his employer - and the sheer incompetence of this author and felon are astounding - yet his writing tries to generate our sympathy. An unpleasant story and not a book I should have bought as it only encourages and enriches the author.

I though Nick Leeson was once a good trader who have lost it all, but I fact he was just a back ofice operator who was send to the floor of the SIMEX to take order from clients. He never make money, nor have trading strategies. He just sell put to have income to cover some handling order mistakes. After he lost to much he buy futures contract to try to come back.