Nonetheless, danger looms as soon as the market turns volatile. The dealer loses money when the index moves up or down in large momentums. Worse, as the writer (seller) of the option, his loss is unlimited. This is what happened to Leeson in the Barings case. Luck ran out when the Kobe earthquake sent the Asian financial markets into a tailspin and sent the Nikkei plunging. Leeson’s bet on a rapid and stable recovery by the Nikkei failed to materialise.