...Case study- The Collapse of Barings Bank 1. What was Nick Leeson’s strategy to earn trading profits on derivatives? The play here was very simple – trading futures on the Nikkei 225 as the underlying. The Nikkei 225 was traded as a future on both the SIMEX and the Osaka markets. There were always known to be differences between the two markets which could be arbitraged. The idea was to exploit the differences between the 2 markets , and execute in the cheaper market on client orders. This would then allow Barings to net a profit as they execute in the cheaper market but quote the client the price in the more expensive market. The underlying idea was of course to always be long one and short the other. Leeson was long Nikkei 225 futures, short Japanese government bond futures, and short both put and call options on the Nikkei Index. He was betting that the Nikkei index would rise, but instead, it fell, causing him to lose $1.39 billion. 2. What went wrong that caused his strategy to fail? Nick Leeson’s strategy failed because the Nikkei 225 index kept falling while he continued to bet that it would rise. On the 17th of January 1995 a huge earthquake struck Kobe in Japan. The Nikkei plummeted putting Leeson’s positions under a lot of stress. The Nikkei plunged to 17950 by the end of that week and Leeson started recording big losses. Leeson’s solution was however to ask for extra funds from London to meet his margin calls and continue trading. His view was that the move down...
Words: 865 - Pages: 4
...Barings bank, was founded in London, UK, in 1763 as a merchant bank. During 80’s it started to have big international success. And in 1995 it collapsed because of general manager in charge of setting up the trading operations in Singapore (Mr. Leeson). The whole story started when Mr. Leeson found out that there was an error, when one of his phone clerks sold the contracts rather than bought them. That day the loss was calculated to be 20,000 Pounds. The only thing he could do was to close the deal only in the upcoming Monday. Because of a busy day on Monday, Mr. Leeson forgot and now this was a problem that could affect not only the clerk but also him. So, he decided to hide this error permanently in an account 88888, but after some days this error could cost the firm 60,000 Pounds so this became a very serious problem that could cause Mr. Lesson troubles with his position in the company and also affect his bonuses (which until now were really high). So he decided to hide this error, and lots of others made by him or his team, which they reached the loss of almost 1 billion dollars. Why did Mr. Leeson behave that way? While reading the case, you can understand that one of Mr. Leeson’s ambitions was to become a floor trader. When he was sent to Singapore, his position was to control both settlement and floor operations and this was not a common practice for Bearings. This way he could control the firm’s operations and also in the same time work in the back office, which...
Words: 3333 - Pages: 14
...Final Report on Case Analysis: “The Barings collapse: breakdowns in organizational culture and management” Prepared by: Valeriya Yun ID: 201005032 SolBridge International School of Business, 2012 Introduction How it is possible that one person became an important reason for the world-known financial institution collapse? But it is, and this guy is Nick Leeson who brought the Barings bank to bankruptcy with losses of $1.4 billion, even though here he played an antihero role we cannot deny his talent. This paper provides an analysis of the case, introduction of the whole picture depicted in the case, Nick Leeson activities and operations, and of course assessment of internal control and some other problems in their structure which also influenced the bank collapse. An analysis is followed by conclusion and final recommendations. Barings Bank overview Barings Bank was founded in 1762 and in the beginning of the 1980s still had a reputation as one of the oldest in England and world’s most pre-eminent financial institutions. During their long history they have already been on the edge but that time they were saved by the Bank of England. But in 1995 as a result of Nick Leeson activities, the Barings Bank collapsed. In 1980s there was a vogue to buy or acquire stockbroking and jobbing firms and Barings Bank followed the tendency and bought Henderson Crosthwaite and built up the significant business BSL which had an operational independence of Barings Brothers &...
Words: 1456 - Pages: 6
...Barings Bank and Nick Leeson Introduction I would like to present the case of Barings Bank, one of the most famous histories in the world when one man led to the bankruptcy the oldest British bank. Barings collapsed on February 26, 1995, due to the activities of one trader, Nick Leeson, who lost almost $1.4 billion. The loss was caused by a large exposure to the Japanese stock market, which was achieved through the futures market. Leeson, the chief trader for Barings Futures in Singapore, had been accumulating positions in stock index futures on the Nikkei 225, a portfolio of Japanese stocks. As the market fell more than 15 percent in the first two months of 1995, Barings Futures suffered huge losses, which were made even higher due to the sale of options, which implied a bet on a stable market. As losses mounted, Leeson increased the size of the position, in a stubborn belief he was right. Finally, on 25 February 1995 he walked away, when he realized that bank was unable to make the cash payments required by the exchanges. Later, he sent a fax to his superiors, offering “sincere apologies for the predicament that I have left you in.” Nick Leeson had totally wiped out the venerable 233-year-old Baring Investment Bank, which proudly counted Queen Elizabeth as a client. He left behind huge liabilities totaling $1.4 billion, more than the entire capital and reserves of the British institution. This situation - and a similar scam at the New York branch of Japan's Daiwa Bank in October...
Words: 3328 - Pages: 14
... You are a new graduate, and you just got the job of a lifetime at the New York office of one of the big accounting firms. Yesterday, the managing partner, Connie Rise, set up an appointment for you to meet with her today. “Good morning,” she says, as you wonder what you have done to be summoned to her office at 8 a.m. You are still reeling from relocating to New York and working in this fast-paced environment. Here you are, plucked from a small city located among wine farms and rolling hills on the central coast of California and plunged right into the thick of things in New York City. But you love your new environment. You earn a great salary, pay exorbitant rent for a tiny apartment, and are on the audit team for one of the leading banks in the U.S. You couldn’t sleep because of the traffic noise last night, so you stayed up far too late reading the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations’ (COSO) Internal Control-Integrated Framework and tried to figure out how it relates to your first real audit. “Please sit down,” Ms. Rise continues. “How has your first...
Words: 2531 - Pages: 11
...A Project on All That Glitters: The Fall of Barings Bank A CASE STUDY ON RISK MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL CONTROLS Introduction: In 1995 Britain’s oldest merchant bank of two hundred years came to a dramatic and fatal halt. The bank was Barings. The demise of the bank was brought about as a result of the actions of a derivative trader, Nick Leeson, stationed in Singapore. Without a careful and considered review one may be tempted to conclude that the blame rests solely on Nick Leeson. But if you think with analytical mind, you will ask: how is it possible that this one man was able to cripple a financial giant? What was the role of senior management in this situation and did they contribute to the demise? How effective were the internal control systems, Risk management system and was the Singapore operations managed effectively? The answer to these and similar questions would be indeed interesting and insightful in analyzing the debacle of Baring Bank. Reported on very widely in the nineteen- nineties, this bank collapse still holds significant lessons for those involved in the management of financial institutions. The objective here is not to prove definitively the exact cause of the collapse but to show, by way of a very narrow discussion, how certain deficiencies in internal controls and risk management systems impacted the bank and ultimately led to its collapse. When Barings collapsed it had a capital of approximately $600 million. Contrast this with...
Words: 3822 - Pages: 16
...Controls and the Collapse of Barings Bank __________________________________________________________________________________________ Commodities Trading: Nick Leeson, Internal Controls and the Collapse of Barings Bank By Sam Bhugaloo Page 1 of 21 Commodities Trading: Nick Leeson, Internal Controls and the Collapse of Barings Bank __________________________________________________________________________________________ Table of Content Introduction.................................................................................................................................3 Background and Overview… ......................................................................………… ........ .....4 Barings Bank...............................................................................................................................5 Internal Controls at Barings Bank.............................................................................................13 Lessons Learned and Steps Taken to Preclude Recurrences . ..................................................15 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................18 References.................................................................................................................................20 Page 2 of 21 Commodities Trading: Nick Leeson, Internal Controls and the Collapse of Barings Bank ____________________...
Words: 5242 - Pages: 21
...________________________________________________________________________ BARINGS – A CASE STUDY IN RISK MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL CONTROLS Author: Hubert Edwards September 2004 In 1995 Britain’s oldest merchant bank of two hundred years came to a dramatic and fatal halt. The bank was Barings. The demise of the bank was brought about as a result of the actions of a derivative trader, Nick Leeson, stationed in Singapore. Without a careful and considered review one may be tempted to conclude that the blame rests solely at his door step. The analytical mind, may however ask: how is it possible that this one man was able to cripple a financial giant? What was the role of senior management in this situation and did they contribute to the demise? How effective were the internal control systems and was the Singapore operations managed effectively? The answer to these and similar questions would be indeed interesting and insightful in analyzing the debacle that Baring proved to be. Reported on very widely in the nineteennineties, this bank collapse still holds significant lessons for those involved in the management of financial institutions. The objective here is not to prove definitively the exact cause of the collapse but to show, by way of a very narrow discussion, how certain deficiencies in internal controls and risk management systems impacted the bank and ultimately led to its collapse. When Barings collapsed it had a capital of approximately $600 million. Contrast...
Words: 2670 - Pages: 11
...Who Killed Barings Bank? Management Principles and Dynamics I. Statement of the Problem What control strategy is appropriate with Barings Bank situation? II. Objectives Find the right control strategy model for Barings Bank to prevent another mismanagement of the bank. III. Areas of considerations/Assumptions A. Areas of considerations a. Corporate culture b. Financial c. Decision-Making d. Leadership / management e. External/Internal environment B. Assumptions a. The Bank’s top officials gives a free-hand to Mr. Leeson to manage the affairs of their Singapore branch b. Mr. Leeson is a great manipulator. c. Top Officials of Barings Bank knows the real situation (financial) in their Singapore branch d. Mr. Leeson gives a lot of money to Baring’s Top Official. IV. Theoretical Framework Financial Control Management of Financial performance that measures the following: a. Liquidity b. Leverage c. Asset management d. Profitability Financial ratios are ratios are useful for historical comparisons within barings banking firm and for external benchmarking. Financial budgets or goals are to be shared with employees and tracked to indicate success or failure...
Words: 473 - Pages: 2
...FIN 444 MID 2 assignment FACULTY MzF How Leeson Broke Barings |The activities of Nick Leeson on the Japanese and Singapore futures exchanges, which led to the downfall of his employer, | |Barings, are well-documented. The main points are recounted here to serve as a backdrop to the main topic of this chapter - the | |policies, procedures and systems necessary for the prudent management of derivative activities. | |Barings collapsed because it could not meet the enormous trading obligations, which Leeson established in the name of the bank. | |When it went into receivership on February 27, 1995, Barings, via Leeson, had outstanding notional futures positions on Japanese | |equities and interest rates of US$27 billion: US$7 billion on the Nikkei 225 equity contract and US$20 billion on Japanese | |government bond (JGB) and Euroyen contracts. Leeson also sold 70, 892 Nikkei put and call options with a nominal value of $6.68 | |billion. The nominal size of these positions is magnificent; their enormity is all the more astounding when compared with the | |banks reported capital of about $615 million. | |The size of the positions can also be underlined by the fact that in January and February 1995, Barings Tokyo and London | |transferred US$835 million to its Singapore office to enable the latter the meet its margin obligations...
Words: 6854 - Pages: 28
...Rogue Trader: Nicholas Leeson Case Agajanova Kristina Aivazova Marina Skhuluhia Irakli Davlianidze Aleksandre 1. Nicholas Leeson’s strategy on the market was simple, he simply thought about rising of the Nikkei 225 indexes all the time, he was playing on long position with, also he was playing short on Japanese gov. bonds, he used tactics of diversification of his investments. But, almost every trade ended up with a failure to him, because indexes were sharply decreasing during the second half of 80th and first half of 90th. 2. All Nicholas’ estimations were wrong, he almost all the time was betting that indexes will rise in the future and he was going va banque. 3. He knew, that “88888” account isn’t considered in London and he could use it to hide his failures. But, in the SIMEX, he couldn’t hide it, but why don’t use it as a costumer’s account, which is not tracked as seriously as corporate one!? 4. First of all, is that the firm gave him carte blanche in controlling both, front and back offices, he managed to hide his fails and “88888” error account. Another thing what helped him, was that he used all his losses, which were not withdrawn by the winners in his previous trades (the specific of Japanese futures market) because, there was no must to withdraw gains. So, it created an illusion of the profit existence for the company he worked for and didn’t make any clue to force auditors go deeply to all his frauds. 5. As it was said above, in...
Words: 578 - Pages: 3
...1. What was the case about? (Summary of the Case) The case was about how one man single-handedly brought down one of the world’s most historic banks. The man was Nick Leeson and it happened from 1992 to 1995. He did it while holding the position of general manager to Barings Securities in Singapore. As general manager he oversaw both trading and back office needs, something uncommon in the industry due to the fact that it eliminated necessary checks and balances that would prevent such fraud from occurring. He had authority to deal in futures and options order for clients or other firms within Barings and arbitraging price differences between Nikkei futures traded on the SIMEX and Osaka exchange, it was a low risk strategy meant to make small profits. Where Leeson went astray was when he began unauthorized speculation in futures on Nikkei 225 stock index and Japanese government bonds. These trades where highly risky due to the fact that they involved a highly leveraged strategy and depended solely on the markets movement upwards. This strategy is a double edged sword because even though it provided devastating results for Leeson it could of also provided incredible gains if the market would have gone up. Leeson essentially bet that the Nikkei was going to rise. Once the loses started coming in Leeson opened up a secret trading account, account 88888. The account was initially set up to cover a mistake done by one Leeson’s traders in which she mistakenly submitted a purchase...
Words: 1291 - Pages: 6
...because you studied them in your ACC 409/609 class: The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations Report, Internal Control—Integrated Framework. You also notice that there are several cases addressing internal control issues. One case is the Barings Bank collapse and there is a video of this case that you and the other staff auditors will view as part of the training. You want to be prepared for the discussions during the training sessions, so you conduct some research on these topics, especially Barings Bank, because you are not familiar with that case. The COSO Framework You search the COSO website and find the 2013 Internal Control—Integrated Framework that outlines five essential components of any internal control system: (1) control environment, (2) risk assessment, (3) control activities, (4) information and communication, and (5) monitoring. This updated version of the Framework introduces 17 principles associated with the five components. These principles provide clarity for the user in designing and implementing systems of internal control and for understanding requirements for effective internal control. You decide to summarize each of the five components as a first attempt to relate the COSO Framework to the Barings Bank failure. You label your work “Summary of COSO and Barings Bank” (see Exhibit 1). You know...
Words: 2441 - Pages: 10
...[pic] Case Analysis The COLLAPSE OF BARING BANK (Individual Assignment) BU 041 Why Corporate Social Responsibility Matters Name: Ou Yang Ning Xiao Term: January 2012 Lecturer: Mr. Issac Leung Due Date: 29th February 2012 Words count: 2133 words TABLE OF CONTENT Executive Summary-----------------------------------------------------Page 3 Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4 CSR Problem within the Barings Bank----------------------------- Page 5 FIVE Acts to Prevented Leeson from Destroying the Bank---- Page 7 Why SOX not Prevent the Fraud------------------------------------ Page 9 How monitor the ethical standard----------------------------------- Page 10 Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------- Page 11 Reference----------------------------------------------------------------- Page 12 Executive Summary This report is through the case analysis about the collapse of Baring Bank, to talk about how the corporate social responsibility influences a company. Through the related CSR problems in Baring bank and trying to find what matters that the organization lack of. In addition to know more about how CSR effect the global business environment, depends on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the report talk about the five acts can possibly prevented Leeson to destroy the company. And also discuss why the SOX act is not effective which lead...
Words: 2214 - Pages: 9
...yielded. This is why we decided that the frauds and scams of the banking industry as well as their influence on other financial institutions would be quite interesting and intriguing. Let us together investigate how far a human mind can go to earn as much money and glory as we desire. Jerome Kerviel’s case-Societe Generale on the edge In January 2008, A French court sentenced former Société Générale trader Jérôme Kerviel to three years in prison for his role in one of the world's biggest-ever trading scandals and ordered him to repay his former employer €4.9 billion—a sum it would take him 180,000 years to pay at his current salary. In convicting Mr. Kerviel of breach of trust, forgery, and unauthorized computer use, the judge also handed Mr. Kerviel a lifetime trading ban. The prison sentence handed to Mr Kerviel is for five years, of which two years were suspended. Throughout the trial, Mr. Kerviel and his lawyers argued that Société Générale turned a blind eye on his illicit behavior as long as he was making money. Société Générale itself acknowledged in 2008 that it didn't have the right control systems in place to correctly supervise Mr. Kerviel. For this lack of oversight, the bank has already paid €4 million in fines to France's banking regulator. Outside the courtroom, many French...
Words: 3438 - Pages: 14
