Nicholas (“Nick”) William Leeson was relaxing at a luxury
resort in Malaysia when he heard that Barings Bank PLC, 1
Britain’s oldest bank, had lost $1.2 billion (£860 million) and
was in administration (i.e., Chapter 11 bankruptcy). He was
shocked, but Leeson should not have been: it was his massive
speculative losses on the futures market over a brief
three-year period that wiped out the net worth of this venerable
bank.