£830,000,000: Nick Leeson and the Fall of Barings (1996)
Trader's Film Library #87 · Frauds and scandals. A documentary about how one trader and one error account destroyed a bank with a 233-year history.
Original title: £830,000,000 – Nick Leeson and the Fall of the House of Barings · Type: documentary · Created by: Adam Curtis (BBC) · Usefulness for traders: ★★★★☆
What it's about
Adam Curtis's BBC documentary about how one trader in the Singapore office brought down Barings, Britain's oldest merchant bank. Nick Leeson hid losses on Japanese index futures in a special error account until the total loss reached about £830 million.
What it has to do with markets
It's the documentary companion to the film “Rogue Trader”: it shows how internal controls failed at a bank that let one person both trade and settle his own trades. A classic lesson about doubling down on a losing position.
Lessons for traders
- hiding a loss always makes it bigger (loss aversion, Atlas of biases #34)
- averaging down a losing position without limit is the road to disaster
- risk control only works if you aren't the one controlling it
What to watch out for
A 1990s documentary in Curtis's characteristic essayistic style. Hard to find.
Discussion
The discussion takes place in Hetman Capital Club (in Polish). Join the discussion in the Club →
Navigation
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The description outlines the plot without revealing the ending where possible (true stories have a known outcome). Educational content, not investment advice.