Nick Leeson

The rogue trader whose unchecked risk-taking caused the biggest financial scandal of the 20th century

The collapse of Barings in 1995, and Nick Leeson’s role in it, is one of the most spectacular debacles in modern financial history. How could one trader bring down the banking empire that had funded the Napoleonic Wars?

Nick Leeson, the young gambler who found himself sucked into a terrifying spiral of loss was a working-class boy who lived high in an upper-class world until his unchecked gambling caused the downfall of Barings Bank (personal bank to HM The Queen) and chaos in the Singaporean money market. Markets have always been cruel, but rarely have they been so cruel so swiftly – and on such a grand scale.

Curiosity, intrigue and sympathy have been the various reactions to this man’s incredible life story. Following Barings’ collapse, Nick Leeson was sentenced to six and half years in a gang-ridden Singaporean jail, in conditions that defy belief, while at the same time, his wife left him and he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Against all odds, he survived and now fully recovered from cancer, lives happily in Ireland with second wife Leona and three children.

Nick Leeson is now one of the UK’s most sought-after speakers. Nick talks frankly about what happened with Barings, the lack of accounting safeguards, his capture and confinement for 9 months in a Frankfurt prison and being sentenced to 6 years by the Singapore court for forgery and cheating.

Nick speaks regularly at conferences and corporate dinners and has travelled extensively to New Zealand and South Africa in the process. The evening usually comprises of a speech lasting up to half an hour and then a question and answer session that can be tailored to your requirements. He also addresses university campuses and has spoken at the Oxford Union, Trinity College Dublin and the University College Cork.

In the aftermath of the AIB trading scandal in New York, and the collapse of Enron and Worldcom, Nick provides a fascinating insight into the continuing failures of senior and middle management at large corporations who still fail to protect shareholders and customers. He also talks about being diagnosed with cancer and his fight against it.

This type of evening represents a unique opportunity for people to meet and question the main participant in arguably the largest banking scandal that the world has witnessed. The story also has a number of human interest aspects that will astound any audience so is not restricted to the world of suits and power lunches that he used to frequent.