Rogue Trader

by Nick Leeson

When Leeson was arrested in 1995 for bringing Barings Bank to its knees, it initially seemed as if he had single-handedly crushed the company. Indeed, it was he alone who found himself in the dark confines of a Singapore jail, from where he wrote Rogue Trader. Now updated for the twentieth anniversary of the collapse of Barings, this is his story of a broken system; of a cast of characters blind to anything but profits - whatever the cost.

Leeson's tale of boom and bust is an important reminder of the immense power the banking system held and, worryingly, still holds.

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction, Biography, Business, Memoir, Economics, True Crime

365 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barings, the UK's oldest merchant bank collapsed and went into bankruptcy in 1995, primarily because of the actions of one man, Nick Leeson, this is his story. This was very much a book about merchant banking / derivatives trading as Nick shares his early career and then rise through the ranks of Barings Bank to become a key player in their Singapore branch, where the 'hiding' of trading errors using a set-aside account became a goto solution, so that over three years it had mutated into a catastrophic loss for the bank, with the account costing millions to service daily and overall amassing losses in the excess of £1.4bn dollars!!!

I found the book difficult to judge as it very much felt like a PR piece for Nick, with copious references to 'great' relationship; on how he claims to have started the rogue account to look after his team members; with no mention in relation to the much later finds that he had amassed some significant personal wealth at this time; and all that coupled with his huge finger pointing at the lack of effective controls and balances at Barings. There's also the unpleasant feeling that he has been rewarded with his press, book and film deals; I have to balance that with the idea that poorer people that commit financial crimes just get locked up and no one wants to hear or pay for their story, they don't benefit from their crime? This book doesn't really enlighten the average person about the financial market workings as well as the many other books out there do. I kind of like the irony of this being a PR piece whilst telling the story of a lot of toxic masculinity with no comment, real context or excuse. Might be worth a read for deeper knowledge of what happened to Barings. 5 out of 12.

2022 read

[Valarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

At about page 57, I didn't give a rat's behind how this guy brought down Barings Bank and shook the financial world. You shouldn't be head of a trading team when you can't bring yourself to fire people who are coming to work stinking of beer and making mistakes that cost you tens of thousands of dollars.

[Arvind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reading this book (even if you dont understand too much about banking). Amazing how a single man can bring down an almost legendary bank with such ease! Great thing about this book is that Nick Leeson (the culprit and author) doesn't try to defend himself, he just states facts as they are.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stress from start to finish. If you want to feel better about yourself, read this and be glad you're not him.

[Henriette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have NEVER picked this up on my own if I hadn't been forced to make a school presentation about this man.

This book's purpose is solely to prove a point: Barings' bankruptcy is not Leeson's fault because his bosses are d*cks, he only lives for his wife and he only wants the best for his coworkers, so much that he would even indulge in criminal acts. What a great person he wants you to believe he is!

Don't get me wrong, his bosses are totally to blame. They should have seen it right from the start. And I'm sure there were lots of unfair and untruthful statements made, how Leeson described it at the end of the book. But that doesn't mean he is not to blame. There wasn't any point in this book were I felt like he admitted to be in the wrong. It was all about "my coworkers, my team, I'm doing it for them, I'm doing it for my wife, I love them all" but then he continues to insult them (even his beloved wife) and how they don't know what they are doing in their jobs, how unfit they are for their position etc. and basically they don't know anything, just like their bosses. Guess what, if you were any better you could have seen it coming that your excessive unauthorised trading would mess up the votalility and cause the margin payments to explode. You were also unexperienced, just like everyone else in that bank. Don't pretend like you're any better and don't pretend like you didn't profit off of it. I can't believe he got only 6 years of prison.

The biography itself is fine. At times a little confusing, because the timing was a little bit off but in general (if we forget the gaslighting for a moment) it was compelling and easy to read so that even people without further knowledge in trading would understand what is going on. I appreciate that. But I would never recommend this book who wants to learn more about how the markets work. Again, it was repetitive and frustrating to read because all this is is him pointing fingers at everyone else.

It draws a clear picture of how trading floors look like: bunch of emotional men gambling and screaming and nobody actually knows (or cares) what's going on as long as there is positive cashflow.

3/5 stars. If I don't get a good grade on this, I will get PISSED.

[BB · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Rogue Trader" by Nick Leeson is a must-read, especially in its latest edition, for anyone in finance or interested in the workings of the financial sector. This isn't just another autobiography; it's a deep dive into the world of financial products, risk management, and the importance of compliance.

Leeson's narrative is surprisingly accessible. He breaks down complex financial instruments into plain English, making it invaluable for understanding how these products actually work. It's eye-opening to see the historical practices laid bare, especially when contrasted with today's standards in risk management and compliance.

What really sets this book apart is its behind-the-scenes look at the dynamics within the financial industry of the 90s. You get a clear picture of the human being behind the scandal, the team dynamics, and the financial incentives that played a role. The lack of segregation of duties, which gave Leeson too much power, is particularly enlightening. These insights into past practices versus current ones are crucial for anyone in finance.

While earlier editions may have lacked some depth, the 2015 version of "Rogue Trader" fills in those gaps brilliantly. Whether you're a finance rookie, studying for the CFA, or just interested in a pivotal case in financial history, this book is a fascinating read and an excellent case study.

[Matthew Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not too many thoughts on the story. The authors is fair on his own actions, highlighting the fraud he committed. Good book until the last page, in which he puts down his colleagues in an everlasting format, despite him being solely responsible for his own actions.

[Glyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishing!

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. Stomach churning anxiety all the way through, coupled with absolute stunned astonishment.

[SWZIE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rogue Trader is quite an exciting book and it reads like a thriller. It's a true account of a well documented crime. Nick Leeson, a young broker with Barings Bank, was sent to work as general-manager at the Singapore International Monetary Exchange. At first he made large profits. His problems began when he covered-up a mistake by one of his colleagues, and hid the financial loss in an error account referred to as 88888. Nick then tried to recoup that loss, only to make losses of his own. In the beginning he was confident he would eventually recover from his devastating bad-luck, but he just got deeper and deeper into the quagmire. Nick continuously requested large amounts of funds from London, hoping that his trading would eventually make profits to balance his losses, but the financial market was against him. Then an earth quake exacerbated his problems by negatively affecting the flow of financial trading.

The biography is full of jargon, such as futures, options and derivatives, which just went over my head, but there is no need to understand those terms to enjoy the book.

Nick’s request for millions of pounds of funding from London was interpreted by the Barings Bank bosses, as having a whiz- kid trader, who was making millions of pounds of profit for them. Therefore, Nick became a legend among his social circle. Nick was dealing in unauthorised speculative trading and he suffered a particularly heavy loss, which he tried to hide. There was evidence of discrepancies that should have been obvious to anyone who compared the figures. When awkward questions arose, Nick just blinded his superiors with jargon, but they were too proud to admit they had no idea what he was talking about. I'm sure readers would find this amusing, because, to me, there was an element of black comedy.

Nick Leeson, although not a polished writer, successfully conveys how his prolonged duplicity culminated in his ever deepening nightmare. I felt his raw emotions: considerable stress, constant anxiety and literally sick with fright. His feeling of solitude was evident, as he hadn't even confided in his wife. I felt it was written with honesty. At first, I really didn’t like the impression Nick gave of himself, as a cocky, confident trader, who was arrogant, self-absorbed and prone to boorish behaviour. But I eventually began to empathise with his predicament. The book is an unbelievable page turner.

[Chris Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, approximately twenty years after this all blew up, picked this up in a charity shop. The reason I never read it prior to this is because frankly, I wasn't interested. Smug little rich boy tries to be too clever with other people's cash and winds up bringing down a big bank.

And I wasn't massively far from the truth, although Leeson doesn't come from money by the looks of things. The actual crime isn't that interesting - if you can follow what actually happened, head to the Far East and make your millions. But what is interesting is the personality of the man. To the end, it's not just his fault, but he feels that he should have been stopped by powers more senior to him. Never mind the fraud and the cack-handed cover-ups - the reason Barings collapsed had everything to do with dumb executives and Leeson was just the conduit.

As a historical document, it's nothing out of the ordinary; typical sensationalist tabloid fodder. As an insight into the personality of somebody whose profession kept him divorced from reality, it's a pretty handy read.

[John Toffee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Right from minute one Nick Leeson is unlikeable. Therefore resulting in the reader having no sympathy with any of his constant whining and 'I know I brought the banking system down, caused my employer to loss millions, acted like a complete idiot etc. etc.' but none of it was my fault because they didn't have the proper checks and balances in place.
The book does show that without proper management what can happen and in this respect it is incredibly frightening. But, particularly after reading the book and being someone who worked for 13 years in the banking industry, I have no time for Leeson and feel that his prison sentence was far too lenient.
His arrogance shines throughout and is only surpassed by the yellow streak of cowardice that runs down his back which refuses to allow him to accept responsibility for the pain and misery his actions alone caused.
Read out of interest but not if a penny of the proceeds goes to line his pocket or self-inflated ego.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into another world - a world of money, banking and pressure - so completely removed from my own. Pretty much all of the financial jargon went completely over my head (and I must admit, I made little effort to figure it out because it just doesn't interest me), but it was still easy to see how Nick Leeson got in completely over his head, but how he believed, right to the end, that he could 'trade his way' out of it - I suppose like gambling addicts do. Despite not really understanding a lot of it, this book had me up late at night, reading 'just a few more pages...', because I had to see what happened next. I wonder what he is doing now? I'm going to Google him and see if I can find out!

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really really fun read, i was siding with him the whole way. It is astonishing how little the senior management knew or wanted to know about what he was doing, it is called wilful negligence...

[Richard Sanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think you will know immediately whether you will enjoy this book by reading the back. I am interested in financial things so I thought it was a very good read

[Nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written recount of his life. The story as such is unbelievable. If you wouldn't know it actually happened, you could consider it fiction.

[Benjy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable, makes you feel sorry for him, which I guess is the point! He comes across as deceptive but trying to cover up the mistakes of others and ultimately is very hardworking. A great read

[Conor Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a fascinating insight into both open outcry trading and the extremes of organisational incompetence. Deciphering the hierarchy within Barings that allowed Nick Leeson to operate with no functional oversight would incline one to feel sympathy towards the organisational psychologists, management consultants, and bureaucrats who study, work, and regulate tirelessly to ensure that the mismanagement of Barings is difficult to repeat.

There are several gems in this book. My favourites include the insights into 90s finance culture, the very detailed descriptions of trading, fraud, and culpability, and a filtered look into a deranged psyche, on the verge of collapse, running on pure stress and sugar.

Leeson’s narrative intentionally evokes sympathy, and occasionally this tactic feels contrived. His frequent references to loyalty among staff, their respect for his fairness, and his persistent battles over bonuses feel calculated to induce this feeling. Similarly, Leeson’s extensive yet superficial portrayal of his relationship with his wife occasionally comes across as disingenuous due to the paper-thin characterisation of Lisa that we ultimately end with. Other central characters – such as George, a fellow trader, and Simon, Leeson’s nominal supervisor – are similarly reduced to flat sketches, undermining their relevance to the narrative.

Nevertheless, the book remains engaging, especially in its precise explanations of financial processes and its gripping, first-hand account of a major financial collapse. While it could have been shorter and I have some stylistic gripes with the author, it’s worth a read.

[Edward Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I half enjoyed this book. Really loved the authors style, and the way in which the whole thing was set up, the monotony of a life within a world that is so alien to me, and the way in which the romance between Leeson and his wife was handled with such respect and delicacy. However, the main gripe is that I actually had no idea what was going on with the finances stuff. Couldn't get my head around it all. So, although I understood that what was happening wasn't good, I had no real idea how or why, despite going the extra mile to research what options, futures, SIMEX, Nikkei etc. all meant in the grand scheme of things. To be fair to Leeson, he did have a bash at explaining it a couple of times, and there is a glossary at the back to help you out. With all that on the table, however, I still had no clue. But the world in which he inhabits is compelling; the drama of the training floor, the old boys finance club, the culture amongst UK traders in the southeast Asia of the 1990s, the hedonism, the headaches and the bad habits. And though the meat of the story was convoluted, I still raced through it with excitement. But I couldn't help feeling as though I was reading half a book; one that was a impenetrable, detail heavy, traders guide, and one that was a gripping story about someone struggling to cover up a huge hole in the balance sheet, going through real human terror and denial, and then becoming the fall guy for the collapse of a merchant bank to the tune of £830m.
Fascinating.

[Damaged Goods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baffling choice of cover photo. That aside, this is impressive as an insider account: he manages to explain what he actually did in a way that makes sense to non-finance people. He also manages to clarify why he did it. Huh. He's obviously not painting himself as the devil incarnate, but he does make the whole thing so... accessible. People Doing Bad Things Because They're Normal is the scariest cautionary tale there is.

It's surprisingly easy to take this at face value: with the exception of a bit of boy-doth-protest about his wife (I can only assume chunks were written to get back on her good side), he doesn't write with too much hidden agenda. He's contemptuous about Barings, from well before any fraud, and the sneer is pervasive throughout the text. He's self-pitying about the FCA, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. He doesn't fake regret about the fates of investors; his sympathy is reserved for himself. He's a touch selective about what to include in the narrative, which leaves the reader compulsively probing the gaps like they're absent teeth.

But, for one of the world's most famous liars, it's surprisingly honest. It's also well-paced and very readable. And terrifying. It's terrifying. People are terrifying.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leeson presents this updated version in an attempt to help not only tell the story of his fraud, but to demonstrate the key players in his ability to commit it. In the end, there are no heroes. Leeson portrays his colleagues and himself as your classic financier in the 90s: womanising and general “bad boy” activities with heaps of money made on the side. These social failings are paralleled by Baring’s senior management’s failings of probity, and in the end no one comes off looking good.

However I don’t think Leeson adequately shifted the blame considering the depths of his malfeasance. He continues to assert that “someone should have cottoned on” and then in the same paragraph describes his sole mastery of his role and cunning in cooking the books. Baring’s failure was a combination of Leeson’s crimes and the management’s lack of control and oversight, but the lion’s share is on Leeson.

A quick and mostly painless read, although I’ll admit some of the finer details on futures and options trading escaped me.

[Phil Mackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course this is not an impartial view of the collapse of Barings. But in common with other books on the subject, it shows that Barings was an accident waiting to happen. Even when audit reports highlighted them, there was no attempt to correct lack of internal controls or blurred reporting lines. Everyone was focused on the bottom line, when a cursory glance further up the page would have shown that the figures did not add up. As I understand it, Leeson was concealing losses from trading errors in the hope that he would eventually be able to turn them round. Others will no doubt understand the technicalities better than I do. What was the organizational culture within Barings, that he was not able to come clean at an early stage when it would have been relatively easy cut the losses. I have no doubt that Leeson was a bright individual, but I can't help feeling that here was someone who rose too high too quickly.

[Pinku Pradhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book. Nick has explained the technical jargon of trading in a very lucid way, for example, terms like Long, Short, Hedge, Options, Futures. I checked the charts of Nikkei 225 during the time Nick was trading, especially during the Kobe earthquake, and that time based on "Technical Analysis", the entry points and the market view of Nick was incorrect. I was also not aware that Christians also cremate bodies (Nick's Mom was cremated), I Googled, and apparently, some do. Overall it's a good read, especially for those who have an interest in the world of derivatives trading but that doesn't stop others from going through it as the language is very easy to understand. Coming to Nick himself, He did do some blunders.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not well written, but how often do we get to hear this perspective? This is the story of one mans nightmare, a fevered stress dream scenario- what if you kept fucking up, and doubling down, till your losses were immeasurable? Parts of this book literally made me sweat in sympathy- for a futures trader!

He sounds like he was an awful person. In the margins of the book, every person he meets who isn’t in the same business as him gets treated with shocking disrespect. Our author seems to cast this as usually being someone else’s fault or just him “having a laugh” but it’s worth noting that not one single waiter or public sector worker has a good experience of him before his downfall, which says a lot. But to say he gets humbled is putting it lightly. All very satisfying.

[Arna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a piece of non-fiction through and through, it’s not a beautiful piece of literature and it’s not a thriller. It feels like a witness statement with some irrelevant details dropped in here and there, those details being either what the author is nostalgic for (e.g. fun nights out in Singapore) or wants you to remember him for (e.g. loving his wife, caring for his colleagues). Straight to the point, maybe some shit talk of people who should have called him out earlier, a lot of apologising and explaining his own panic. It is not a piece of investigative journalism and it’s not a literary masterpiece. It’s just a pretty authentic first person story, and an interesting story at that, from a very different time in banking.

[Priit Rohumaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s always fascinating to read about how a major bank is driven to bankruptcy. Nick was truly talented in one sense—he managed to conceal such massive trading losses for so long. This book clearly illustrates how little back-office employees in such banks actually understand the nature of the trades they are processing.
The senior executives, blinded by annual bonuses, seemed too easily manipulated, making it shockingly simple to exploit gaps in oversight. It’s yet another striking example of how ineffective internal auditors and even expensive external audit firms were at the time when it came to controlling complex trading operations. A compelling read for anyone interested in financial scandals and the weaknesses in banking oversight.

[Glory Dey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book Depicting The Real Life Story Of Money, Greed, Banking, Financial Markets In The World. There Is A Movie Titled Rogue Trader (1999) Starring Ewan McGregor, Anna Friel Based On This Book Worth Watching. Both The Book And Movie Are Thrilling. Truly Greed And Corruption Have Always Been The Destruction Of The Powerful And Mighty. The Stock Markets Are Nothing But One Big Bad Gamble Fueled By The Greed And Manipulation Of The Super Wealthy Entities. And Common People Fall For The Lure Of Cheap Wealth. All These Scams, Scandals And World Crisis Remind Us The Importance Of values And Integrity In Life! Great Book, Must Read!

[Brigette · Rating 2 out of 5]

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2021 - Prompt 44 - Book with the Ugliest Cover / work Capital Markets book club

This cover isn't really all THAT ugly but by the time I finally finished this book, I hated the sight of it, so going with that.

This is the story of the trader who tanked Barings Bank. Granted, he had a lot of help from incompetent or criminally neglectful Upper Management, but he did a lot of the damage himself. My main problems with the book were that he seemed to want to blame a lot of people besides himself, and it dragged on FOR. EVER. A lot less whining and never-ending "but it's not all my fault, it's THEIR fault too!" would have been good.

[Ilse Timmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting storry to read. Especially as a business student. If you are interested in knowing more about nick leeson I would recommend it. I would also recommend it if you are like me really yong and only heard his name a few times but did not exactly knew what crimes Nick had done. The story is really oriented on his life especially at the SIMEX so I think you do have to have an inteteressed in accouting, business etc. to like this book. Eventhough it is illegal what Nick did I still learned a lot from it.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a story that was mentioned in Ugly Americans.

About a trader in Singapore who single-handedly racked up, and hid, such significant trading losses that it caused the collapse of Barings, one of the oldest English merchant banks, in the early nineties.

Nick Leeson tells the story how it happened and explains how he went about everything and the eventual fallout. Another good read, a little more financially complex than Ugly Americans but you can kinda glaze over that and still follow.

[Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book multiple times - it gives an accessible but fascinating insight into the dangers of playing the markets, the human decisions/pressures he was under and how when they go wrong, it can bring even the oldest banks down. Reading it now, it shows that we didn't learn as we've seen other banks fall during the 2007-08 crisis much bigger and harder. This is different as one man caused it and his story of being on the run adds to the interest.