One day in July, 1987, a friend told Nick Leeson that Morgan Stanley needed manpower. Therefore, Nick Leeson applied for a job and got one immediately. Nick Leeson chose the latter and worked in the futures and options department. Every morning, Nick Li Senxian goes to euston by train, and then takes the subway company. Most of the time, Nick Leeson didn't go home until nine o'clock in the evening. On Friday and Saturday nights, Nick Leeson will watch a football match or go to a disco. Nick Leeson went to the Futures and Options Department of Morgan Stanley Bank for liquidation on July 1987. But he always wanted to be a trader on the trading floor, earning profits for the bank and getting a good salary. But at Morgan Stanley, he failed. On the afternoon of June 1989, Nick Leeson resigned and left Morgan Stanley Bank. That night, Nick Leeson went to the office of Bahrain Bank in Potsdam Street. I talked with a person in charge named John Guy for half an hour, and I found a new job. At Bahrain Bank, Nick Leeson continued to do clearing work in the futures and options department. Nine months later, Nick Leeson got the opportunity to work in Indonesia, but the business of Bahrain Bank in Jakarta was very chaotic. A large number of tickets were not handled properly, the staff did not have an office, and the tickets were piled up in the basement at will, with a deficit as high as 1 100 million pounds. Nick Leeson began to clean up the tickets here, eliminating the debt of 1 billion pounds for Bahrain Bank, and met his wife Lisa here.

In March, Nick Leeson returned to London. His success in Jakarta and his training at Morgan Stanley Bank made Nick Leeson regarded as an expert in futures and options settlement. 199 1 year, Nick Leeson inspected the business of Bahrain Bank in Europe and the Far East for a whole year. He accompanied Tony Dick, who is in charge of bank development, on a global trip to find new opportunities for the development of Bahrain Bank. They have been to Frankfurt and suggested setting up an office in this city in order to break into the growing European market. I have also been to Hong Kong and Manila. In the second half of the year, they arrived in Singapore. Bahrain Bank decided to set up a branch in Singapore, and Nick Leeson became the general manager of the futures and options trading department of Singapore Branch. Nick Leeson colluded with the staff of Bahrain Bank Osaka Stock Exchange of Singapore International Finance Exchange (SIMEX is a very small market in Singapore, and Nick Leeson has no authorization for direct trading, so it can only follow the instructions of Osaka workers). The risk is small, as long as you seize the time and speed, you can win. The liquidation work here is also very chaotic.

An error occurred while editing the transaction.

Cover up a mistake for the first time

1992 July 17, Ms. Wang, a novice in Nick Leeson, made a mistake. She mistakenly thought that the customer bought 20 Nikkei futures contracts as selling 20 contracts, resulting in a loss of 20,000 pounds, and then the loss reached 60,000 pounds because the Nikkei index rose by 200 points. Nick Leeson didn't report this mistake to his superiors, but used the 88888 account to cover up the truth. This is the first time that Nick Leeson used the 88888 wrong account to cover up a serious mistake.

Error increase

Trader George made a mistake in a transaction and lost as much as 8 million pounds. George is a good friend of Nick Leeson and one of the best traders. In order to keep George and his position, Nick Leeson recorded George's mistakes in the 88888 error account. But he faces three problems: first, how to make up for these mistakes; Second, how to avoid the monthly internal audit of London headquarters after the account number 88888 is recorded incorrectly; Thirdly, SIMEX requires them to add margin every day, and they will calculate how much the Singapore branch loses every day. The account of 88888 can also be displayed on SIMEX's big screen. On the one hand, Nick Leeson used his commission to make up for the small mistakes in the 88888 account, on the other hand, he made up for the big losses by making accounts and obtaining funds from the London headquarters to conduct risky owner transactions. However, due to the stability of the Nikkei index at that time, Nick Leeson earned an option fee from the transaction. In July, 1993, he turned a loss of 6 million pounds in account 88888 into a slight surplus. At that time, his annual salary was 50,000 pounds, and the year-end award was nearly 654.38+10,000 pounds. In an internal audit in July of 1993, Li Sen muddled through by getting drunk every night. If Nick Leeson stops using the 88888 account, he won't make a big mistake. Nick Leeson said, "But when I returned to SIMEX on Monday, I found that I still had to use the 88888 account. My position is strange. On the one hand, I work in a trading place, and I am responsible for options trading in Japanese yen. On the other hand, I am the head of the logistics department, and I can make any request to London at will. I can see the whole picture-this is really a very easy thing for me. I may be the only person in the world who is responsible for both sides of the income balance sheet. I'm already addicted. ..... Apart from London being responsive to my remittance request and never asking in detail, another thing also contributed to my due behavior: according to the regulations, I have to report to three different people. Simon, the highest boss in Singapore, knows nothing about futures options trading. Nominal boss Mike, his business is in Tokyo, but he has little contact with him. He only cares about the profits I make. Two bosses in London, but they are excited about the profits I reported. ..... Because of this, I can handle my own affairs as I please without anyone's interference. " Although some memos questioned this, due to loose management, no one corrected this mistake. In this way, Nick Leeson recorded more mistakes in the 88888 account. In order to win Philip Bonifay, the biggest customer in the Nikkei market, Nick Leeson made a very risky deal. He promised Philip's price, but in fact it was impossible. As a result, he transferred the risk of customers to himself, causing huge losses. Later, the market price soared 1 1,000 points every day. Due to frequent computer screen failures of clearing records, countless transactions have been accumulated. Because of the need for manual liquidation, many mistakes cannot be corrected in time. Li Sen lost $654.38 million+$700,000 in one day. In the case of no choice, Nick Leeson decided to continue to conceal these mistakes, and in order to earn back the loss, he continued to conduct the owner transaction.

Muddle through with false excuses

1994 At the beginning of this year, Bahrain Bank sent a strict auditor to audit its branches. But as soon as she arrived in Singapore, she was recalled by the headquarters and replaced by two "easy-to-deal" auditors. Nick Leeson forged a deposit of 50 million pounds in Citibank, but actually there was not a penny. The 50 million pounds was used to make up for the loss of 88888. The auditors didn't check all kinds of statements carefully, which made Li Sen pass. Although they once again suggested changing Nick's management mode and suggesting that the headquarters send a risk manager to supervise the work here, they did not get the attention of their superiors. In the first seven months of 1994, he earned $2.5 million in arbitrage and trading business in Singapore and became a trading star.

Edit this gambling transaction

Nick Leeson said, "I'm bent on recovering the losses in the 88888 account, so I always do non-hedging transactions. However, this kind of transaction is the riskiest gamble. " As a result, 1994 became a year of sharp increase in losses. Due to the pressure of huge losses, Nick Leeson lost the ability to analyze the market and was led by the market. The loss of account 88888 increased from 65438+20 million in early 0994 to 50 million in July. In order to get the money, Nick Leeson lied that SIMEX asked Bahrain Bank to provide a deposit for his clients. In fact, he found the source of the money and provided a deposit for himself. Initially, the Bank of England stipulated that it was illegal for other banks to remit more than 25% of their total funds overseas. However, the application of Bahrain Bank was acquiesced by the Bank of England. At that time, Thompson was a senior official in charge of the supervision of commercial banks. He said that some things might be "buried in piles of papers". Therefore, Nick Leeson can apply for a large amount of funds from the London headquarters without being asked. In some gambling transactions during the period of 1994, Nick Leeson suffered a series of losses, because the telephone may be tapped. Although there are times to make money in trading, there are also more times to lose money. Trading Risk 1994 12 Two months before the bankruptcy of Bahrain Bank, Li Sen was regarded as a hero by 250 employees of Bahrain Bank worldwide at the Bahrain Financial Achievement Conference held in new york. At that time, his boss Ron only cared about how much profit Li Sen could make to pay the dividend in February next year. By 1995, Nick Leeson's loss had reached1600,000, leaving a deficit of 50 million in the account of 88888. When the head office inquired about this matter, Nick Leeson lied that there was an over-the-counter transaction with SLK, which owed money, and forged SLK's promise to repay 50 million pounds, so that Citibank received 50 million pounds through transfer. As early as the summer of 1993, Bahrain Credit Department decided to provide SLK with a limit of US$ 5 million, but Bahrain Company took the decision to cover up its mistakes, which gave Li Sen another month to breathe. Although someone wrote a memo about it, no one discussed it, and no one asked where the 50 million went and tried to cover it up. 199565438+1October 18, Kobe earthquake, Japan, the Nikkei index fluctuated greatly in the following days, and Nick Leeson made a lot of profits in the early stage. However, due to the large deficit in the past, it is impossible to pay off all of them. At that time, Nick Leeson obtained funds from London for investment at the rate of 6,543,800+million pounds per day. However, he made a fatal mistake in this investment. He bought a lot of Nikkei futures and shorted JGB government bonds. As a result, the index fell all the way, while JGB rose all the way. Although the headquarters was dissatisfied with the huge sum of money sent to Li Sen every day, it was delayed again and again by Li Sen.1In February 1995, Li Sen tried to buy the Nikkei index in an attempt to support the market by itself, but this effort failed completely and the Nikkei stock price plummeted. On February 23rd, Li Sen brought a loss of 860 million pounds to Bahrain Bank, which led to the termination of the oldest Bahrain Bank in the world. (SIMEX also wrote to Bahrain Bank to inquire about account 88888, and was worried about the amount of funds needed to maintain account 88888. Although SIMEX obtained a huge margin from account 88888, SIMEX believed that Bahrain Bank paid the margin for its customers, but SIMEX stipulated that member companies should not provide funds for customers' trading margin. Although the superior also knew about it, he never carefully checked the account number 88888, and casually mistyped SIMEX, allowing Li Sen to prevaricate skillfully. )

Edit the last paragraph of this paragraph.

In the last stage of February 1995, Li Sen muddled through by being busy with trading and going to the bar after work to avoid the staff's questions. Since mid-February, Li Sen has absorbed more than 500 million pounds of financing, although the total share capital of Bahrain Bank is only over 470 million pounds.

Bank of Bahrain in the United Kingdom went bankrupt.

1994 On Christmas Day, Nick Leeson wanted to run away and never return to Singapore, but he "loved her too much to admit that I had lost such a large sum of money. I don't want to scare her. On second thought, I realized that I couldn't stand her image of failure. Because in her eyes, I will succeed in everything, so I can't stand being a loser in her mind ").

Simon, the Singaporean boss of Nick Leeson, wants Li Sen to make money, which will help his reputation and consolidate his growing power. He wants to make the distribution of Bahrain Bank in Singapore independent. He controls the tiller and can't let anyone get ahead of him. So he asked me to get rid of the auditor and falsify the audit records.

Bankruptcy report

Singapore released a report on the bankruptcy of Bahrain Bank on 10 June 17: "... Bahrain Group provided many explanations to explain that account 88888 deliberately evaded inspection. However, they can't accept their view that account 88888 is an unauthorized account, and they know nothing about it. Our view is that the management of Bahrain Group knew or should have known the existence of account 88888 and the losses caused by the trading activities under the account. …… The London Settlement Department of Bahrain Group knows and should know that the additional margin constitutes the classified account of the additional margin issued by Bahrain Bank to customers. However, the London settlement department of Bahrain Group claims that it has never used a simple one-page document of the margin preparation form to solve the problem of inconsistent balance funds ... In fact, the internal audit report found no new signs. From the beginning, Bahrain Group knew that Mr. Li Sen had a dual role. He is both the director of the front office and the director of the back office. The internal audit report is mainly used to re-examine this point. However, Bahrain Group still goes its own way. ..... At any stage, the senior management of Bahrain Group did not ask how and where Li Sen got 7.78 billion yen (50 million pounds) to complete this unauthorized payment ... Mr. Norris (CEO) and Mr. Barkis denied that they participated in any plan to downplay the significant impact of this matter or hinder the independent investigation of this matter. But their denial is unacceptable. ..... Looking back on this matter, one thing is possible. If Bahrain Group had acted in time before February 1995, they might have avoided bankruptcy. By the end of 1995 1, although heavy losses were caused, these were only a quarter of the final losses ... If the managers of Bahrain Bank still didn't know about the 88888 account until the bankruptcy, it can only be said that they have been avoiding the facts. After the bank collapse, Mr. Norris, the senior director of Bahrain Group, thought that Mr. Li Sen's behavior had little influence on Bahrain Group, but it produced good returns and was not credible. Moreover, this seems to show the speaker's ignorance of market reality, so he lacks credibility. "

Edit the continuation of this paragraph.

How has the life of a former "devil trader", a famous "financial rogue" and "fierce" changed because of the scandal that caused a sensation in the world? "If there were no 1995 earthquake in Japan," Nick mused on the other end of the phone, and then described an imaginary scene to the Southern Weekend reporter-"Now I should be the top management of the investment bank, make major decisions every day, try to avoid risks and be strict with myself." Nick, 44, is a little bald now. He was once one of the focus figures in the global financial market-at the age of 28, he single-handedly brought down Barings Bank, an old European commercial investment bank with a history of more than 230 years. Because of this, he was notorious, known as a "financial hooligan" and jailed. First, he served nine months in a German prison (because he fled to Germany after the incident was revealed), and then he was transferred to a Singapore prison to serve another three years and seven months. Although the book Rogue Trader, which Nick finished after he was released from prison, was widely known after being made into the movie Devil Trader, few people knew about his personal experiences such as attempted suicide, cancer and divorce from his wife while serving his sentence. After he got out of prison, in the words of one of his friends, "it was like a different person", and he even went to study for a degree in psychology. Nick used to be the CEO of a football club in Ireland. He resigned in June 5438+10. He is now traveling around the world, attending some business dinners and giving a speech similar to "Buffett luncheon" with the theme of financial risk management. These activities are also his main source of income. 20 1 1 In April, I was interviewed by Southern Weekend for many times and talked deeply about my changed life. Nick said: "After the earthquake in Japan in March, I don't remember having the experience as a reporter of the Wall Street Journal. "In fact, Bahrain Bank will fail sooner or later, and everyone will be given great autonomy in making money, but the rules and regulations and risk management are in a mess. I opened an illegal account and the subsequent Hanshin earthquake were just incentives. " But Nick's fascination with the financial industry is still deep in his bone marrow. For a long time after he went to prison, he dreamed that if the "foundation" of Bahrain Bank was thicker, even if his illegal account and huge losses were found out, he might be given another chance instead of filing for bankruptcy. "I will never have such a dream again. People can't live without a bottom line. " In 200 1 year, when Nick was studying psychology, the British psychologist Ivan tyrael said to him, "Maybe in another ten years, the collapse of Bahrain Bank will only be regarded as a historical event, not a financial scandal." At that time, Nick refuted Ivan's statement: "A scandal is a scandal. But I have to change my face, even if the label attached to me in the textbook may always be' financial hooligans'. " Nick still holds this view. He told Southern Weekend reporter that he would meet former employees of Bahrain Bank at some business dinners now, and he would confess that he had made a big mistake. "Once in a speech in England, the host let slip when introducing me:' Please welcome Nick Leeson, an asshole'. I don't mind, only I know how much I have changed. " However, Nick didn't want to compare him with Madoff, the former chairman of Nasdaq, who was investigated and punished three years ago for operating a Ponzi scheme and defrauding more than $60 billion. "Madoff's financial fraud case is a complete fraud," he said. Prison is a "good teacher". There is a scene in the movie The Devil Trader. Before his arrest, "Nick" was still an arrogant expression and gesture at Frankfurt Airport. "This plot is pure fiction," Nick told Southern Weekend. "How can I be so strong? When the illegal account began to lose money, I dared not bite my nails, let alone after I was formally arrested. I'm more fragile than anyone thought. A trivial matter may make me cry: in the first six months in a German prison, I cried almost every day, sometimes for my family, sometimes for myself, and sometimes just to cry. " In fact, when Nick served his sentence in Germany, the conditions were not bad: besides the bed, there were TV and radio, newspapers and books, and even a laptop. Other projects can also be applied to the court, and the court decides whether to allow them according to their urgency. However, because European and American media speculated that Nick's sentence might be more than 10 years, more than 20 years, or even more than 80 years, he was once desperate. "I once thought about giving some money to two Italian prisoners. They are members of the mafia and asked them to help me commit suicide in the bathroom." When he was later extradited to Singapore and finally told that the total sentence was four years and four months, his inner fear weakened. Although the prison conditions in Singapore are far more difficult than those in Germany, and the gang struggle is also very serious, Nick hardly cries any more. In addition to his belief that the prison term is acceptable, the more important reason is that "in Asian culture, men who cry are very humiliated." Soon after, after he came to Singapore to serve his sentence, he contacted less and less his wife and announced that their six-year marriage was officially over. To make matters worse, he was immediately diagnosed with rectal cancer. Nick said, I don't know what other managers in the investment bank are ranked. In his mind, colleagues and clients are second only to his wife and family-although the emotional foundation between him and his wife is not solid, he sometimes cheats. So he was a little desperate at first, but he was "relieved" when he thought of an old saying in China, "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", and the fact that there are many AIDS prisoners, severe tuberculosis patients and family misfortunes. In his own words, he is becoming a real man after "standing until he is 30 years old". He insists on reading and writing every day to divert his attention. "I have read several novels by tom clancy," he said. "Whether they are good or not, at least they can divert my attention and make me feel that I am somewhere else." Nick learned that the operation would be performed in two days. 1August 9, 998, which happens to be Singapore's National Day. This carriage is a national celebration of Singapore's independence from Britain, and that carriage is a famous British financial criminal waiting for cancer surgery in Singapore prison hospital. "Many times, I learn more about cancer by reading. I used to be a complete idiot in this respect, "Nick said in an interview with Southern Weekend. "Just like investment. The more information you have, the more you know the trend of things. " As a result, Nick miraculously came back to life after chemotherapy. He joked that he was "the highest-ranking' white-collar'" in Singapore's prisons. 1released from prison on July 3, 999. Generally speaking, prisoners can't wait to escape from prison early in the morning, but Nick didn't leave until noon because he was asked to destroy all the diaries he wrote in prison. After returning to England, Nick felt like an alien. "In England, I may be the last person to know who Katie Price is," he said. "My happiest thing is that the taxi driver asked me where I was going, anywhere except prison." After solving the long-suppressed sexual needs, Nick said that he must start a new life. "One must have his own clear goals". "Maybe I should get a job in China." Nick just went to prison. When he first got out of prison, there was a scuffle in the British media. The British media once advertised in the Singapore media, just to find someone who knows more about this "financial gambler" story. On Nick's flight back to China, there were also many media reporters in order to dig out some "inside information" from him in advance. Nick is both sad and grateful for this. The grief lies in the fact that individual journalists "created trouble" for him. For example, a reporter claimed that Nick still had millions of pounds in a secret bank account. Thankfully, the "first bucket of gold" after his return to Britain was the "six-figure reward" (hundreds of thousands of pounds) paid by the Daily Mail for an exclusive interview. After Nick was released from prison, How I Down Baring Bank was a best seller, and the copyright was sold to many countries all over the world. When Southern Weekend reporter asked about Nick's total income, he was still somewhat evasive. "The total is seven figures (millions of pounds), but after deducting the legal fees and other expenses of my case, there is not much left." "As for the movie The Devil Trader, I didn't get any money," Nick continued. As for the media reports that Nick's immediate boss, Peter Norris of Bahrain Bank, opened a cinema in London after the bank went bankrupt, and The Devil Trader premiered in his cinema, Nick denied it. "This is a fake. Peter worked in a brewery for a while, and then ran john brown Publishing Company for a while. He seems to be opening a private bank recently. " He said, "I invited 34 friends, including Peter, to attend the private screening of the film, but as far as I know, Peter left early." Nick later went to Middlesbrough University in England to study for a degree in psychology. This is where he met psychologist Ivan Tyrell. Ivan helped Nick rediscover himself from the perspective of psychology and sociology, and called Nick's legendary experience and transformation a modern version of The Arabian Nights. Nick also met his wife, Ona, in college. They got married and had a son. Together with ona and her ex-husband's two children, Nick's family of five now lives in Ireland. "Family is the most important thing." He said. He said that he does not pay attention to individual stocks now, but only pays close attention to commodities such as gold and crude oil. In 2005, Nick became the chairman of an Irish football club called Golve United, and he left this position until 2011. He said that he had "enough things" and wanted to focus on what he was really interested in and suitable for himself. Now he mainly attends some business banquets and gives speeches all over the world. He doesn't belong to any specific company, but his activities are arranged by a top English organization called NMP Site. "Isn't there a proverb in China called' failure is the mother of success'?" Nick told Southern Weekend reporter. "Every time I attend a banquet, I take a very serious and sincere attitude. I basically take my own experience as an example to discuss risk prevention and financial supervision with you. Financial scandals keep happening. I would never deliberately use the fact that I brought down Bahrain Bank as a stunt or show off. I just want people to pay attention to what I did wrong, whether it was a personal mistake or from the perspective of an organization. " But he also regrets that he will become a negative example in all textbooks and reports. However, to his delight, when a friend's son heard the details of the collapse of Bahrain Bank in class and the teacher called Nick a "heinous bad guy", he stood up and refuted the teacher and said: What you said is not necessarily completely correct. I know him. He's not as bad as you say. If Nick was asked to give some advice to young people, he said he would say "Don't pretend to know". "In the face of the situation that you can't cope with, try to consult others with an open mind. That's real courage. If time can go back, I hope I can be brave. "When talking about the global financial crisis in 2008, Nick said that all financial institutions and regulatory authorities have unshirkable responsibilities. He talked excitedly about Ireland: "The situation in Ireland is too bad. Some leveraged financial leasing practices are illegal and shameful to some extent. "Coincidentally, on April 18, when the Southern Weekend reporter interviewed Nick, the international rating agency Moody's downgraded the credit ratings of many financial institutions in Ireland. In recent years, the loss events of derivatives trading in China are equally frequent and huge. It is worth noting that when some central enterprises, such as China Eastern Airlines [3.96-2.46% share research report] and China Ocean Shipping [4.48-4.48% share research report] have financial scandals, almost no one has been implicated, let alone imprisoned, and even continue to provide huge financial subsidies. " Any violation of national regulations and financial rules should be punished. In this regard, state-owned enterprises should not be soft. "Nick said. But it is not without exception. In March 2006, Chen Jiulin, president of CAO Singapore Company, was jailed for engaging in oil derivative options trading without authorization, resulting in a huge loss of $550 million. Chen became the first president of an overseas listed company in China to be arrested for violating Singaporean laws. I know about Chen Jiulin. Singapore's supervision is not perfect. How much better can regulation be in other parts of the world? If it's not Singapore Cao, but a local company in China, will the outcome be different? "Nick kicked the ball back. Nick was a little surprised when he learned that Chen Jiulin was appointed as the deputy general manager of a subsidiary of a central enterprise in China (Gezhouba [7.58-3.93% Share Research] International Engineering Co., Ltd.) on October 20. He said in a half-earnest and half-teasing tone: "It seems that I should go to China to find a job! "