Nick Leeson

Nick Leeson, the “rogue trader” that broke Barings Bank is one of the most sought-after speakers on the global speaking circuit. The collapse of Barings Bank in 1995, and Nick Leeson's role in it, remains one of the most spectacular debacles in modern financial history.

How could one trader, an ambitious 25 years old investment broker, bring down the banking empire that had funded the Napoleonic Wars and counted the late Queen Elizabeth II as one of its private customers?

The young gambler who found himself sucked into a terrifying spiral of loss was a working-class boy from Watford, north London, who lived out of his depth, high in an upper-class world, until his unchecked gambling caused the downfall of Barings Bank and caused chaos in the Singaporean money market.

Sentenced to six and a half years for fraud, Nick spent four and a half of those incarcerated in a Triad gang-ridden Singaporean prison, locked up 23 hours a day, most days, in 100+ degree heat. He was eventually released early on compassionate grounds, due to battling colon cancer, on July 3rd 1999 and extradited back to the UK. At that time his oncologist gave him a 60% chance of surviving another five years.

More recent cases such as Allied Irish Bank, Societe Generale (2008), UBS (2011) and FTX (2022) simply highlight that loopholes haven't been closed. In an exclusive interview for the BBC with Huw Edwards, Nick commented "I think rogue trading is probably a daily occurrence amongst the financial markets. Not enough focus goes on those risk management areas, those compliance areas, those settlement areas, that can ultimately save them money."

Despite more audacious and larger scale incidents of rogue trading since the collapse of Barings, Nick Leeson remains the most infamous and high-profile rogue trader and one of the world's most sought-after keynote speakers within the corporate sector.

The late Sir David Frost, who interviewed Nick whilst in the Frankfurt prison, optioned the rights to his story and in 1999 the Hollywood film “Rogue Trader” was released as a dramatisation of his story and starred Ewan McGregor (Star Wars, Trainspotting) with Anna Friel (Marcella, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pushing Daisies) portraying his wife at the time.

These events with Nick Leeson represent a unique opportunity for people to meet and question the main protagonist in the largest and most significant financial scandal of the 20th century and gain his personal insight into the current economy and the world today.

Nick Leeson speaks regularly around the world to companies and organisations from all industries and corporate sectors including financial institutions, insurance companies, aerospace, the retail sector, law firms, media organisations, security firms, the IT sector and educational facilities including MBA business schools and universities.

“The Failings of Barings Bank - Risk, Compliance & Transparency; How It Is Still Relevant Today?”
Following the worst global recession on record and in the aftermath of the AIB trading scandal in New York, together with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Enron and Worldcom, Nick Leeson provides a fascinating insight into the continuing failures of senior and middle management at large corporations around the world who still fail to adequately protect shareholders and customers.

Topics covered by Nick Leeson within his standard presentation include:
• Risk Management
• Corporate Responsibility & Governance
• Compliance, Control and Transparency
• Importance of Communication and Information Sharing
• Knowledge is Nothing Without Understanding
• Creating The Right Culture in The Organisation
• Transparency Will Outlast Charisma - The ‘Celebrity’ Culture
• Technology - Focus on Analysis and Correlation, Not Just Alerts
• Information to Safeguard is Always there, its Just Whether or Not You Use it

“Rogue Trading: My Story - An Insider's Perspective by Nick Leeson”
When a keynote speech is a little on the heavy side, Nick Leeson offers an after dinner presentation which is his own personal story and account of the collapse of Barings Bank.

It has a number of human interest aspects that will astound any audience, so his talks are far from restricted to the world of suits and power lunches that he used to frequent in the early 1990s.

Nick speaks openly and candidly about Barings Bank and the lack of accounting safeguards that ultimately led to the bank’s collapse, his capture and confinement for 9 months in a Frankfurt prison before being extradited and sentenced by the Singapore court for forgery and cheating. It includes his personal account of spending four and a half years in a gang-ridden Singaporean Jail, the stress of going through divorce and beating colon cancer whilst still in jail and in treacherous conditions.

Where conditions and time allow, Nick often incorporates video clips into both his keynote and after dinner speeches. These contain a mix of real-life interviews with the Barings management following the collapse, news reports at the time from around the world and also extracts from the 1999 Hollywood movie and dramatisation of Nick’s book Rogue Trader starring Ewan McGregor.

Exclusive interview with Nick Leeson

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Nick Leeson. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.