If you are my age or older, then the name Nick Leeson will mean something to you. In 1995, Leeson (pictured above) was working as a derivatives trader in Singapore for Barings Bank, at that time the oldest and most prestigious merchant bank in the United Kingdom. Leeson had a few trades go awry, then attempted to make back his losses, lost some more, and got into a cycle of covering up his mistakes while trying to undo them with ever-bigger gambles.
He ultimately ended up losing eight hundred and twenty seven million pounds, and fled Singapore while leaving a note on his desk for his colleagues: It simply read “I’m sorry”. Barings Bank could not sustain the loss and collapsed. Leeson was eventually apprehended and served a not-unjust four years and four months in prison.
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