How One Guy Bankrupted One Of England's Oldest Banks

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ธ.ค. 2021
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ความคิดเห็น • 962

  • @geoffreydowdle5751
    @geoffreydowdle5751 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5618

    As an accountant, it blows my mind that no one anywhere along the way saw this ballooning account on the trial balance and asked, "What the heck is that?"

    • @johnkeefer8760
      @johnkeefer8760 2 ปีที่แล้ว +989

      Yeah a £20k account I can imagine being easily overlooked, even a £2mil one. But once you go into the hundreds of millions of pounds, it’s insane nobody even asked what it is

    • @mattb154
      @mattb154 2 ปีที่แล้ว +424

      It's almost as if there are perverse incentives to look the other way.

    • @geoffreydowdle5751
      @geoffreydowdle5751 2 ปีที่แล้ว +187

      @@johnkeefer8760 Exactly. The early stages, if the bank doesn't break down their financial analysis by entity, country, etc I can understand why it was overlooked. Even then though, less common accounts (like error accounts) are noticed/questioned even sooner. Also if the track percent change, this would have had a flag on it so fast.

    • @geoffreydowdle5751
      @geoffreydowdle5751 2 ปีที่แล้ว +99

      @@mattb154 I suppose that's a fair point. Whenever something undesirable is found, the question always seems to be, "Why did you spot this sooner?" So if someone is scared, they might not mention it and hope it resolved itself. Very bad idea.

    • @geoffreydowdle5751
      @geoffreydowdle5751 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@Sandeee do you have a link?

  • @sabikikasuko6636
    @sabikikasuko6636 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4304

    Ah yes, the classic technique of tanking your entire bank to not deal with a loss equivalent to a millionth of the bank's profit LOL

    • @jpaugh64
      @jpaugh64 2 ปีที่แล้ว +194

      He was probably trying to avoid losing a bet, and having to pay for a co-worker's lunch.

    • @aspenin
      @aspenin 2 ปีที่แล้ว +367

      I'm still laughing at how the 1.4 billion loss derives from a 20000£ loss

    • @Gary-yt8ee
      @Gary-yt8ee 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      😳🤣

    • @ichigokurosaki7762
      @ichigokurosaki7762 2 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      @@aspenin it's normal he was trying to make money with little money. Just like we regular folks have to do it. The reason he was successful with the bank before this happened is because he had to do it with lots of money. It is easy to make money with lots of money, but it is very easy to lose tons of money with little money.

    • @miniwa1rus145
      @miniwa1rus145 2 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      @@ichigokurosaki7762 it’s not normal to go from 20k loss to 1.4 billion loss, and either way your point of him trying to make money with little money has no validity if that was the reason he failed then they must not of had hardly any money to begin with, at the beginning it was only a 20k loss leaving them with tons of money to make 20k back which should have been easy according to your logic

  • @gm2407
    @gm2407 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4327

    Now do the prequel and tell the story about the man who nearly did that 70 years earlier to the same bank.

  • @thomasaquinas354
    @thomasaquinas354 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2674

    I remember reading "Around the world in 80 days" as a kid. I was surprised by the fact I learned from a footnote left by the translator saying that Barings bank had survived hundreds of years and is still in the business. Little did I know, the book was a hand-me-down from my youngest uncle and was quite outdated.

    • @AxxLAfriku
      @AxxLAfriku 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ORORORORO!!! I spend half of my day sleeping! ORORORO!!! Then I sometimes get up and tell you that I am a famous content creatorORORORORO!!! Please don't sleep while driving, dear tom

    • @DamirMaatar
      @DamirMaatar 2 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      @@AxxLAfriku ?

    • @thomasaquinas354
      @thomasaquinas354 2 ปีที่แล้ว +117

      @@AxxLAfriku English isn’t my mother tongue, I don’t know how to respond to this nor do I comprehend it.

    • @unma5253
      @unma5253 2 ปีที่แล้ว +153

      @@thomasaquinas354 As someone who has spoken English all his life, I assure you I too feel the same way. I feel so confused.

    • @JuanLopez-ss3mz
      @JuanLopez-ss3mz 2 ปีที่แล้ว +39

      @@thomasaquinas354 oh don’t worry, it’s just a schizophrenic attention seeking troll who uses bots to spam gibberish

  • @aliensnail2892
    @aliensnail2892 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1884

    Imagine the panic when you keep losing money, so you try to make it back but then you double the losses of your bank :/

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

    • @shottytheshotgun
      @shottytheshotgun 2 ปีที่แล้ว +68

      @@xp8969
      stop spamming this in every reply

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@shottytheshotgun sorry snowflake, truth hurts

    • @shottytheshotgun
      @shottytheshotgun 2 ปีที่แล้ว +51

      @@xp8969
      ok boomer

    • @almerindaromeira8352
      @almerindaromeira8352 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It should be called: Casino Syndrome

  • @jacksonletts3724
    @jacksonletts3724 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2268

    I just can’t wrap my head around doing fall of this over 20k. He made 10% of this billion dollar bank’s yearly profit! I doubt he’d even get a slap on the wrist.

    • @raineriramalho2669
      @raineriramalho2669 2 ปีที่แล้ว +390

      and didn't he have 20k of his own money if this was such a serious issue? this is completely insane

    • @hedgehog3180
      @hedgehog3180 2 ปีที่แล้ว +613

      Not to mention it wasn't even his fault, like it was someone else under him who made the mistake. This whole thing is just a tale of incredible hubris that even the Greeks would think is a bit too much.

    • @rickycoker5830
      @rickycoker5830 2 ปีที่แล้ว +153

      @@hedgehog3180 this guy sounds as if he were under the influence of some heavy duty pharmaceuticals. only way for his judgement to be so spectacularly bad

    • @senseiadam-brawlstars9465
      @senseiadam-brawlstars9465 2 ปีที่แล้ว +506

      The EXTREMELY DUMB THING that this video didn't go into: One of his trades actually was successful at one point & he was able to pay back all his debts and make the company a lot of profit. Instead of stopping, he kept doing these risky trades because he liked the attention and fame he was getting within the company.

    • @seneca983
      @seneca983 2 ปีที่แล้ว +57

      It's the classic mistake; hide a small misdeed but by doing so commit a far greater misdeed.

  • @Fernando-ek8jp
    @Fernando-ek8jp 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4762

    One has to take into consideration that Nick got into his position by actually bringing in a lot of revenue and profit, he didn't fumble into the position, he actually earned it. Then failed spectacularly.

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +380

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

    • @RamiAbdelal
      @RamiAbdelal 2 ปีที่แล้ว +260

      Barings just kept giving him the benefit of the doubt, they had an completely incompetent auditing process that let his fraud fly under the radar for years. It was insane.

    • @NAEBODY
      @NAEBODY 2 ปีที่แล้ว +76

      @@xp8969 that’s deep bro, we live in a society

    • @MrNight-dg1ug
      @MrNight-dg1ug 2 ปีที่แล้ว +45

      @@xp8969 You mean George Floyd? Why are you bringing that shit in here?

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +98

      @@MrNight-dg1ug cause this is literally our whole entire "justice" system in a nutshell and it's DISGUSTING how the rich are allowed to do whatever they want while the poor are murdered and enslaved in private prison factories for far less substantial crimes

  • @johnchessant3012
    @johnchessant3012 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1089

    What's hilarious is he was probably getting paid millions as a top-level trading manager so the original $20,000 mistake he was trying to cover up was not even a week's worth of his salary

    • @jpaugh64
      @jpaugh64 2 ปีที่แล้ว +131

      He was probably trying to avoid losing a bet, and having to pay for a co-worker's lunch.

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      @@jpaugh64 So the money all evens out.

    • @ronanmurphy9426
      @ronanmurphy9426 2 ปีที่แล้ว +95

      His actual salary was only around £50,000 before bonuses which themselves often amounted to 3/4 times his base salary worth. He currently lives not too far away from me in Galway, Ireland and he previously owned the local football club Galway United. The reality is that in a career in finance, the satisfaction and purpose is derived from making the money, not necessarily personally receiving it. Obviously lived lived a lavish lifestyle for a short time but he didn't see the slightest fraction of what he made.

    • @VincentGonzalezVeg
      @VincentGonzalezVeg 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ronanmurphy9426 I hope hes thrown as a person, looks like he has some room

    • @EliteRocketBear
      @EliteRocketBear 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      He also made succesful trades that made all of his debts back. He just liked the thrill of it.

  • @sjk6097
    @sjk6097 2 ปีที่แล้ว +538

    Whilst it's evident Leeson was the driver behind Barings failure, others almost certainly knew what he was doing. He was the scapegoat. I used to work in the building directly behind Barings and remember press everywhere when it collapsed. I was talking to my old boss at the time, and he said if Barings had asked for a £10m increase in their line with who I worked for at the time the day before it failed he'd have signed it off.

    • @fugupan8005
      @fugupan8005 2 ปีที่แล้ว +89

      This is exactly it, Barings were all too happy to be wilfully ignorant when his rogue trades made them 10% of their profit in a year. They shouldn't have been surprised when it eventually swung back against them

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 2 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      I guess, if he's going to be a scapegoat, at least he got celebrity out of it.

    • @COPKALA
      @COPKALA 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      this shows how 'good' the financial experts in a bark are....

    • @ferretyluv
      @ferretyluv ปีที่แล้ว

      According to ColdFusion’s documentary, Barings’ execs were very inept. They were way too trusting to this guy and the fiasco exposed other problems they were having with not adapting to modern markets and shit.

  • @bukster1
    @bukster1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +348

    So when I found a screw up at my workplace for over $100,000 I reported it to my boss and we worked out how to fix it. Nobody goes bankrupt and I didn't get fired. That's got to be a better idea than trying to hide it like nick did.

    • @CaseNumber00
      @CaseNumber00 2 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      I sorta kinda understand Nick, I have seen people canned for $700...for a corporation worth $300,000,000+ at the time.

    • @livinginvancouverbc2247
      @livinginvancouverbc2247 2 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      I once had a job where I recommended an engineer for our company. My boss felt that the engineer made a mistake that cost our company an unnecessary extra $30. (yes, thirty dollars) My boss yelled at me and rubbed my face in that for TWO YEARS. It would've gone on longer but I quit after two years. That's right, a $30 mistake... that someone else made, but I recommended the guy.

    • @useodyseeorbitchute9450
      @useodyseeorbitchute9450 2 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      You see? So because you and your boss behaved like adults, you missed a chance for global fame and book deal.

  • @TheHylianBatman
    @TheHylianBatman 2 ปีที่แล้ว +342

    Destroying the oldest financial institution in England seems so easy!

    • @matth3us
      @matth3us 2 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      Barely an inconvenience!

    • @oliverbanks3396
      @oliverbanks3396 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      This feels to me, an idiot, who knows nothing: like a fundamental flaw in the entire global financial system

    • @carlireland5049
      @carlireland5049 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I mean look how easily it happened again in 2008!

    • @EdKolis
      @EdKolis 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Let's do it again now just for fun!

    • @dieseldragon6756
      @dieseldragon6756 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Given how little value there is in the Pound nowadays, I think somebody already did... 🙃

  • @zawwin1846
    @zawwin1846 2 ปีที่แล้ว +470

    Plot Twist- He wasnt a bad options trader, he just really hated the bank.

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 2 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      He was secretly planted by an enemy banking firm to take down the company from the inside.

    • @johnr797
      @johnr797 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 wouldn't surprise me, tbh

    • @InventorZahran
      @InventorZahran 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      As far as I know, he didn't hate the bank, but he did want to exploit it for personal gain.

    • @Spartan322
      @Spartan322 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@InventorZahran Given that's what he was doing, I suppose so.

  • @flp322
    @flp322 2 ปีที่แล้ว +154

    "...but consider that you, the viewer, has no idea what selling a future even means."
    Joke's on you, I watched your video about onion futures!

  • @CarthagoMike
    @CarthagoMike 2 ปีที่แล้ว +74

    Fun fact: the bank was eventually sold to ING, who themselves almost went bankrupt at the start of the financial crisis due to financial mismanagement, and had to be bailed out by the Dutch government.

    • @carlireland5049
      @carlireland5049 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The truth is that most investment banks suffered from a serious lack of regulatory oversight (internal and external) by the 1990s and the 2000s

  • @GamePlague
    @GamePlague 2 ปีที่แล้ว +464

    Geeze with the resources he had available he could have played it safe and paid back the account slowly but instead he just kept taking bigger and bigger risks.

    • @user-xi6by2we2i
      @user-xi6by2we2i 2 ปีที่แล้ว +44

      Exactly lmao. The FTSE100 went up by over 15% that year so if he had literally just put £130k in a diversified account, he'd have made the money back in a year with virtually zero risk.

    • @dunebasher1971
      @dunebasher1971 2 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      The video doesn't cover the fact that he successfully traded his way out of his problem - but because he'd got away with it and he knew Barings' controls were lax, he couldn't stop himself continuing to take unwise risks. And that's when he dug himself the same hole again, but this time couldn't stop digging.

  • @stephenmatura1086
    @stephenmatura1086 2 ปีที่แล้ว +125

    Badly audited banks or companies deserve to go to the wall although it's usually the poor employees that suffer the most.

    • @jpaugh64
      @jpaugh64 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Even the worst companies are composed of employees, who each are likely aware of the problem, at least in a vague way, and have the potential to improve the situation.

    • @raptorfromthe6ix833
      @raptorfromthe6ix833 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      banks are important to society and lets face people who run it rarely go to jail unless its againt other rich people

    • @-xirx-
      @-xirx- 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      And the taxpayers a lá 2008

  • @thatguyonyoutube6632
    @thatguyonyoutube6632 2 ปีที่แล้ว +65

    For those people who commented about the fact that others overlooked this account or didn’t bring it up, in the later stages of the Baring Bank, the company culture was really messed up. Landing a job in the bank was deemed as a golden placement and it meant that you were supposed to be extra smart. Because of this, the culture in the bank became such that if anyone asked a question , irrespective of it’s significance or relevance, that person was ridiculed and looked down upon, even though others in the team might have the same question.
    It went so far that ( and this is an example) even asking for where the stapler is, was replied with condescension. The person should’ve known where the stapler was.
    So imagine if nick had spoken out about the 20,000 pound mistake, or if anyone else had spoken out about a ballooning account. ‘How could that person not know?’ Would’ve been the reply and would be left at that.
    You can read about it in the book: Start With Why.

    • @kadafi4lyf
      @kadafi4lyf 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      That doesn't explain why public regulators and auditors didnt identity it

  • @PTRMAN
    @PTRMAN 2 ปีที่แล้ว +372

    Great financial explanation in terms everyone can understand!

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

    • @onesteeltank
      @onesteeltank 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@xp8969 you're really comparing these two?

    • @hypnotoad28
      @hypnotoad28 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@onesteeltank Yeah and apparently X P feels as though spamming the same comment in every reply section is somehow a good use of their time. Either desperate for likes or just a goofball

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@onesteeltank how can one not compare them?

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@hypnotoad28 I couldn't give a fuck less about likes on my comment, it's an important point to make because that is literally our entire "justice" system in a nutshell, the rich get away with whatever they want while the poor gets murdered and enslaved in private prison factories for much smaller crimes

  • @angelaphsiao
    @angelaphsiao 2 ปีที่แล้ว +495

    He’s such a complete hypocrite, too. He’s said in interviews that his superiors were complete idiots for not noticing, as if the whole reason he caused this mess wasn’t that he was so epically bad as a trader
    Edit: yall I’m not saying he’s a moron, I’m saying he took crazy risks that aren’t at all sustainable in the long run, and even though no one could predict an earthquake his tactics were bound to fail. If you win the lottery, the way to earn more isn’t to spend until you’re in the red and then try to win it again.

    • @KnakuanaRka
      @KnakuanaRka 2 ปีที่แล้ว +45

      Yeah, he was a crap (or at least unlucky and panicky) trader, but there was also a hell of a lot of negligence and disorganization that allowed his BS to go on unnoticed.

    • @cjeam9199
      @cjeam9199 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      I mean he really does have something of a point there, his superiors clearly didn’t understand what was going on well enough and didn’t have processes in place to confirm what they were being told by him.

    • @IZn0g0uDatAll
      @IZn0g0uDatAll 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      A crap AND completely crooked trader. It’s amazing one can be such a greedy douche, fail so spectacularly, screw up millions of people and still feel entitled to open his mouth and brag around his crimes.

    • @humorpalanta
      @humorpalanta 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      He wasn't a bad trader otherwise he wouldn't have had access to important accounts and money. He made a mistake and then did a stupid thing to hide it. Then he got stressed and due to stress (I mean A LOT OF STRESS) he started to make worse and worse decisions. It is spectacularly beautiful and shows what some stress can do

    • @waterturtle2919
      @waterturtle2919 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      He was certainly not a bad trader. This video skips many parts, including the time he actually managed to remove the massive debt created by speculative investments. It just didnt go well the second time.

  • @conorstapleton3183
    @conorstapleton3183 2 ปีที่แล้ว +110

    Anarchist: "DESTROY THE BANK!!!!"
    Leeson: "okay."

    • @lzh4950
      @lzh4950 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Need to look at the Lessons to be learnt from this bankruptcy

  • @hedgehog3180
    @hedgehog3180 2 ปีที่แล้ว +76

    This whole thing is just a tale of incredible hubris that even the ancient Greeks would have thought was a bit too much.

  • @j.chiari4222
    @j.chiari4222 2 ปีที่แล้ว +219

    I also broke my bank at the tender age of 6. It was rather pig-like

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      That was the oldest bank in the bedroom!

    • @j.chiari4222
      @j.chiari4222 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 and in all of Bedfordshire!

    • @livinginvancouverbc2247
      @livinginvancouverbc2247 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      And I bet you just used your charm to get others to put their money in your piggy bank! Fiend!

    • @asheep7797
      @asheep7797 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I broke something belonging to a multi-billion dollar company.
      ITS CALLED A COKE CAN YOU… TOYOTA COROLA!

  • @kurtlindner
    @kurtlindner 2 ปีที่แล้ว +130

    In Korea when you lose a bunch of company money you risk your life in a game of life or death -the total winning sum of which won't even cover all you've lost.
    In England when you lose a bunch of company money you leave a post it note, participate in a game to make yourself money, and get an episode of HAI written about your deeds.

    • @kingjia90
      @kingjia90 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      mugunghwa kkochi piotsseumnida~

    • @ThSadomasohista
      @ThSadomasohista 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I'm not sure if that is commentary on the extreme conditions in companies when it comes to mistakes in Korea, which really are shite, or if you are referencing something.

    • @kurtlindner
      @kurtlindner 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@ThSadomasohista Squidgame reference.

    • @ThSadomasohista
      @ThSadomasohista 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@kurtlindner Ah, so that's what that series was about, thanks.

  • @carlireland5049
    @carlireland5049 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Something you didn’t mention in this video was that Leeson actually briefly paid back the money in full in July 1993. He could have just walked away at that point, everything would have been fine, and no one would have been the wiser. Instead, the experience of getting away with it seems to have fed into some sort of sociopathic Napoleon complex, and within days he started doing more illegal trades because he decided he was so talented he could keep cheating the system to earn more money, which went about as well as you’d expect it to

  • @jsquared1013
    @jsquared1013 2 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    The expressions "know when to cut your losses" and "don't throw good money after bad" come to mind 🤦‍♂️

  • @ktoddk99
    @ktoddk99 2 ปีที่แล้ว +62

    "There's absolutely no way this could go tits up"
    *Turns on tv the next morning*
    "GUH"

    • @uy9572
      @uy9572 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Lmao

    • @davidmella1174
      @davidmella1174 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Billionaires when their GME short selling positions get crushed because of a horde of redditors

    • @carlireland5049
      @carlireland5049 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I love watching the videos of Leeson on the trading floor after the earthquake but before he got caught. You can tell he knows he’s screwed.

  • @bjoern_eberhardt
    @bjoern_eberhardt 2 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    The description how he was hiding his error account and all the funny excuses he made up at that time and the fact that no one ever checked what was going on would have added to the story. With this super short summary, it became only @Half as Interesting.

    • @bjoern_eberhardt
      @bjoern_eberhardt 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Watch the ColdFusion version of it.

    • @dunebasher1971
      @dunebasher1971 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      AND the fact that he actually successfully traded his way out of the problem and made the bank a big profit into the bargain - but then couldn't stop himself digging another hole because he'd got away with it the first time.

  • @lizagna7172
    @lizagna7172 2 ปีที่แล้ว +90

    Honestly 6 and a half years is a light sentence for losing a billion dollars

    • @inyourbathroom
      @inyourbathroom 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      You were selling $100 of drugs? Say bye to two decades of your life. You destroyed a company, cost them $1,400,000,000, and lost hundreds of people their jobs? You knucklehead, lil slap on the wrist for you sir, quit messin around!

    • @extremeusace4189
      @extremeusace4189 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@malachaicarter4338 it is , i expected life for that much money

    • @archierobertson5426
      @archierobertson5426 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@malachaicarter4338 it is compared to 20 for much smaller scale drug offences that hurt a hell of a lot less people. White collar crime is notoriously underprosecuted and it's bullshit. 6 years for a 1.4 billion fraud or 20 for selling $500 worth of pot

    • @asheep7797
      @asheep7797 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      If only I knew this when my friend had -1B and Leeson'd it into -14.6T
      (JOKE)

    • @memethief4113
      @memethief4113 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      if you have a debt of 20,000 dollars it's your issue, if you have a debt of over 1 billion dollars it's the banks issue :)

  • @axilleas
    @axilleas 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    This dude would have had a bright career as a finance minister in Greece.

    • @carlireland5049
      @carlireland5049 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      And after the default of that government he could have fled to Venezuela and still continued his career

  • @ryuuguu01
    @ryuuguu01 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    This was not the first time Barings lost all its money, it also did in 1890 but that time the Bank of England organized a bailout.

    • @carlireland5049
      @carlireland5049 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      If Nick Leeson had never been born, it would have instead lost all its money in 2008 and also gotten bailed out by the Bank of England.

  • @InventorZahran
    @InventorZahran 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I heard this story on ColdFusion. It's cool to see more channels covering this crazy banker's exploits!

  • @SynchroSk8
    @SynchroSk8 2 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    My father spent the 1970s, 80’s and into the 90’s trading futures and commodities in Chicago. I always tried to understand what he did - he just seemed to ‘get it’ and I couldn’t see it at all. I clearly needed a sub sandwich reference to better get it! Ha! My father finally sold his seat on the Chicago Board of Trade and went to work for my mother at her local business. I could tell he liked not having the stress of the trading floor and he stuck to just online trading going forward. I just can’t imagine losing a client’s money, let alone your company’s money or your own. It seems so stressful!

    • @morbo3000
      @morbo3000 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That's pretty cool. How did he find the adjustment from floor trading to electronic? There was a documentary about CBOT/CBOE floor traders who consistently made money until trading went electronic. A lot of those guys made money on the floor because they could read people, but when everyone went behind a screen, that advantage was gone.

    • @morbo3000
      @morbo3000 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @randomguy8196 Floor trading is shouting and hand signals to communicate bids and offers with each other, but there is a lot of information simply from who is making what trades. If a floor trader for a broker is making trades, those are for clients and that can tell you a lot about which way the market will move. Or if a trader who runs a hedge fund is making certain trades, you can make a pretty decent guess on how he's trying to change his positions. Body language also is a big source of information. All of that is gone with electronic trading, and many floor traders couldn't adapt.
      Check out the documentary Floored.

  • @LiveWire937
    @LiveWire937 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Hollywood: "damn, this dude deserves a movie"
    Sam: "eh, not even interesting enough for a main channel video; too much fraud, not enough logistics"

  • @hamstereatsbanana5042
    @hamstereatsbanana5042 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Fun fact: he was listed as one of Singapore's most infamous criminals because he was arrested in Singapore for his deeds in the country

  • @bonoboape5478
    @bonoboape5478 2 ปีที่แล้ว +39

    its crazy that if you steal 1.4 billion dollars you get 4 years, but I kill one orphan and I get 20.

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

  • @apl175
    @apl175 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Barings was so ancient and big that it was one of the institutions that helped finance the Louisiana Purchase in 1803!

    • @carlireland5049
      @carlireland5049 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Yes, and by doing so it paid Napoleon’s France, which then used the money to go to war with the UK and nearly invade it. So amazingly bad financial trades seem to have been Barings’ specialty, then.

  • @randomobserver8168
    @randomobserver8168 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    That explanation of puts, calls, and short straddles was so clarifying I almost understood. Thank goodness I knew not to try to go into finance.

  • @Nope_handlesaretrash
    @Nope_handlesaretrash 2 ปีที่แล้ว +238

    So how do you manage to destroy 800 million dollars of other people's money and then only go to jail for 4 years. But if you steal a TV anywhere but California you're getting 10. Seriously you steal someone's car, Just GTA not even a carjacking and you're talking a decade. I'm both shocked and appalled to Singaporeans didn't beat this dude to death with a cane on live television for weeks on end.

    • @ashtonhoward5582
      @ashtonhoward5582 2 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      Pounds, not dollars. That's 1.4 billion dollars.

    • @MadHatter42
      @MadHatter42 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Everyone knows white collar crime isn’t real crime.

    • @cactus5781
      @cactus5781 2 ปีที่แล้ว +59

      Because jail is about class warfare, not justice

    • @soundscape26
      @soundscape26 2 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      10 years for a stolen TV? No wonder American incarceration rates are so damn high.

    • @SuperSMT
      @SuperSMT 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      He didn't destroy $1.4 billion. He just moved it from the accounts of his bank's clients to the accounts of other unaffiliated traders.

  • @Rehk
    @Rehk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Close to 2mil! You Deserve it man, Can’t wait.

  • @DoctorX17
    @DoctorX17 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    I wanna know how he lost many millions over _years_ without, like, auditors catching on.

    • @jpaugh64
      @jpaugh64 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Sounds like he was a trusted stakeholder within the bank, and auditors trusted the info he gave them.

    • @raptorfromthe6ix833
      @raptorfromthe6ix833 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@jpaugh64 thats the sad part in finances and business you should not trust people at first sight

    • @jpaugh64
      @jpaugh64 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@raptorfromthe6ix833 Who says they did? Financial firms intentionally hire people who are willing to take risks, and for a leadership or high-ranking position, you need someone who will take ownership of a bad situation. This is an example where the good reasons that they hired and trusted him were (eventually) corrupted because of crises situation that broke him and unlocked a character flaw. This is literally a villain's origin story.
      Every trait that you could hire for has positive and negative aspects, just like every coin has heads and tails. Beside that, every single one of us is in danger of becoming corrupt, if someone makes us very angry, or if we get desperate.

  • @Ynhockey
    @Ynhockey 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The funny (or sad) part of this story is that instead of being sorry or even admitting his mistake, Leeson kept saying that it was the bank's own fault that they were a bunch of numpties and believed him, instead of checking where the money went. That's some first-rate hutzpah, but he is probably right.

  • @alberto2287
    @alberto2287 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    So to cover a £20,000 loss, you lose £800 million. Sounds brilliant 😂

    • @dunebasher1971
      @dunebasher1971 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The video missed out a lot. That £20K loss ballooned, but he was able to successfully make it all back and earn the bank a fat profit into the bargain. Unfortunately, that only emboldened him to keep taking risks, and THAT'S when he started making the losses that led to the bank's collapse.

    • @EdKolis
      @EdKolis 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Still it sounds like "my car was stolen, let's take out a loan but instead of buying a new car I'll go to Vegas!"

  • @Merto6
    @Merto6 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    4 years for a billion dollars seems like an excellent deal

  • @owenmergliano8160
    @owenmergliano8160 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    The bank was sold to ign for 1 pound. Thats not so bad when you realize that this is around 100 times the price of us supercarriers when sold to scrapping companies.

  • @kurkotain
    @kurkotain 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    As an old subscriber of your content, I am loving this type of editing and script/joke writing

    • @949brock
      @949brock 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      bro called us out with that futures line 💀

  • @spikedavis4013
    @spikedavis4013 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Love your videos, so interesting you should rename your channel as whole as interesting or always as intersecting or always interesting or something

  • @InventorZahran
    @InventorZahran 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Leeson's trades went from Stonks to Stinks very quickly!

  • @kaihatkeinenaccount
    @kaihatkeinenaccount 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I really like your transitions to the ads. Its super smooth. As smooth as the transitions from Linus Tech Tips used to be.

  • @-fv
    @-fv 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Kinda crazy how you can lose 1.4 billion dollars and only get 4 years in jail then write a book about it to make millions, makes me wonder why more people havent done this

    • @ThSadomasohista
      @ThSadomasohista 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Most banks aren't quite as incompetent.

    • @EdKolis
      @EdKolis 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Most of us don't know how. Thanks HAI for taking care of that problem! Off to get a job in finance, then to Maui! 🏖️

  • @quinntendo6497
    @quinntendo6497 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    What's crazy is that there was one time where he actually did make the money back and fixed everything, but instead of calling it quits he kept going.

  • @williambrooker2030
    @williambrooker2030 23 วันที่ผ่านมา

    The best explanation of a call option I have ever seen!

  • @YouAreBreathing
    @YouAreBreathing 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love learning about random topics from HAI.

  • @joepickford6219
    @joepickford6219 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Not often do I cheer for the bank instead of the employee.

  • @oopsy444
    @oopsy444 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    how tf does over a billion in loses amount to just 6 years. thats insane.

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

    • @oopsy444
      @oopsy444 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@xp8969 he even got out earlier for good behavior like so what he should be behaving its the bare minimum

  • @skellymon1771
    @skellymon1771 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    finally a call and put explanation i can understand

  • @Yadobler
    @Yadobler 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I'm glad that singapore not only saw the fall of the British to Japan, but also the fall of the oldest British banks to the literal falling of buildings in Japan.

  • @redactedz6146
    @redactedz6146 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I'm guessing Sir Francis is rolling in his grave cause of this dude

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      George definitely is...

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

    • @kets4443
      @kets4443 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@xp8969 wasn't an execution because what chauvin did was illegal

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@kets4443murder, execution, same thing

  • @AnimilesYT
    @AnimilesYT 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I actually do have a vague understanding of what selling a future means 😁

  • @furrydreamer4443
    @furrydreamer4443 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    4:21 Okay I've been playing way too much The World Ends With You because I immediately went 'Oh hey it's scramble crossing!'

  • @ddrrat
    @ddrrat 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I need a deeper dive into this

  • @henriklarssonstanaccount5599
    @henriklarssonstanaccount5599 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Fun fact, Nick Leeson managed to weasel his way into becoming chairman of my local club after his effective exile from England, and bankrupted us as well. True story

    • @lucariolps277
      @lucariolps277 ปีที่แล้ว

      And according to Wikipedia, he's now the CEO of bear and Bull. Some financial Form. Lol

    • @carlireland5049
      @carlireland5049 ปีที่แล้ว

      Galway United?

  • @zakiducky
    @zakiducky 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    This is quite honestly one of the most hilariously amazing stories I’ve heard in my entire life XD
    I mean, holy shit, this is fucking crazy in all the best ways possible lol

  • @newshodgepodge6329
    @newshodgepodge6329 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is a good companion piece to Dagogo's (Cold Fusion) coverage of this story.

  • @NooneStaar
    @NooneStaar ปีที่แล้ว

    The Call and Put explanation was nice.

  • @skleeny5
    @skleeny5 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Hey, I know what selling a future is! I saw the "How Global Oil Prices Were Raised $1.50 by a Drunk Trader" video

  • @richardhobbs7360
    @richardhobbs7360 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Didn’t expect to see a video on it considering my actually grandparents knew him, noice

    • @anchiit
      @anchiit 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Story time?

    • @richardhobbs7360
      @richardhobbs7360 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@anchiit not really much to say about him, all they really tell me when I push them about him is hes an idiot but they didnt realise how much of an idiot he was

  • @thomasfriedl3137
    @thomasfriedl3137 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I feel so inspired right now

  • @DreadGecko
    @DreadGecko 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This reminders me of the story of Brian Molony. He was a compulsive gambler who worked for CIBC in Canada. He ended up embezzling millions to feed his gambling habit.

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj3917 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Love the vid, but one thing:
    The option contract is NOT for a set price AT a set time; Rather, it is for the set price (strike price) UNTIL the set date [expiration date (which is often the third Saturday of the month)].
    But, like I said, I love the topic.
    Great video, brother!

    • @shinu.80
      @shinu.80 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      That's an american option. european options can only be exercised at the expiry date.

  • @samthecar
    @samthecar 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    *Oh the worst trader? Try me 😈*

  • @teejay3250
    @teejay3250 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Bro, you stay roasting me personally in these videos😂😂 .... But you're right, I had no idea what it was.

  • @CharlesReiche
    @CharlesReiche 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    @0:42 We're in The Snack Zone baybeeeeeee!

  • @MediumRareSteak
    @MediumRareSteak 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Should make a video regarding a certain thing being disabled.

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

  • @marcwenger9424
    @marcwenger9424 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I didn't understand any of that. All those sandwiches made me think of my upcomming lunch time

    • @boygenius538_8
      @boygenius538_8 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Simply put, a call is a bet that the price will go up, a a put is a bet the price will go down, a straddle is a bet the price will stay the same.

    • @adityabenwal
      @adityabenwal 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@boygenius538_8 Legend says.. he is still thinking about sandwiches..

  • @thats_wacckk1998
    @thats_wacckk1998 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Havent watched this yet, but I want to do this

  • @brandonmtb3767
    @brandonmtb3767 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    your channel is like those annoying top 10 channels but you are not annoying and actually have interesting videos and funny jokes

  • @KingMatthewXV
    @KingMatthewXV 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I know what a future is I watch your content

  • @nikonfan2407
    @nikonfan2407 2 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    Great video as always!
    I am somewhat disappointed that I am forced to watch it on TH-cam because Nebula is not connecting. I really would rather watch your content there so could you see if they might be able to get their servers working better?
    I love you and Nebula! I'd dislike TH-cam if I could but they removed the button.

    • @hsbswjwsb
      @hsbswjwsb 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      why would you dislike the video just because you can't watch it on a different website? karen alert

    • @nikonfan2407
      @nikonfan2407 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@hsbswjwsb You may want to actually read people's comments before replying to them.
      Clearly it's hard for you, but give that reading thing one more try and then reply appropriately.

    • @TeleTrenta
      @TeleTrenta 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@hsbswjwsb this is why comprehension exams are neccessary

    • @nikonfan2407
      @nikonfan2407 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@TeleTrenta Seems that those exams may be optional in his neck of the woods.

    • @hsbswjwsb
      @hsbswjwsb 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@nikonfan2407 what do you mean by disliking youtube then, sorry I'm not english

  • @manny8898
    @manny8898 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    i feel like u explained calls and puts in the most confusing way possible LOL

  • @bankerdave888
    @bankerdave888 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Now I know what "digging one's grave" looks like! 🤣🤣🤣

  • @gregoryhouldsworth2189
    @gregoryhouldsworth2189 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    He probably would have gotten away with it if he had named the account 88888888.

  • @VwhynotzoidbergV
    @VwhynotzoidbergV 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    How do u make such big mistake and still have a good life?

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

    • @AshrakAhmed
      @AshrakAhmed 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      by being rich and white.

  • @stephengabon8147
    @stephengabon8147 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    In wsb, this guy would be put on a pedestal love this story

  • @destroyerinazuma96
    @destroyerinazuma96 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Reminds me of a French film called "the Outsider" based on an IRL BNP Paribas guy. During the 2008 crisis, he went opposite marking trends hoping he could outsmart everyone and that his gamble would pay off. Dude was a competent trader, but had no idea how much luck-based his previous wins were and how much he was risking by keeping playing a game where the best move was to cut losses and go report the situation to the higher ups. The tl;dr is, BNP survived the hundreds of millions loss, but sued the trader for all of it though part of the responsibility was allegedly theirs, as he wasn't a completely independent trader and had to follow certain orders.

  • @samiraperi467
    @samiraperi467 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Yeah, about Brilliant and math skills? I don't think having good math skills is *more* likely to bankrupt a bank.

  • @jiajianhou426
    @jiajianhou426 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Only 4 years in prison? Should’ve been longer. If anyone can just go to prison for 4 years and make £800 million, sure they’d all be doing it.

  • @jonnyr3335
    @jonnyr3335 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Think this is one of the ones I suggested ahahaha one of the best audit failing stories :)

  • @ZMW7
    @ZMW7 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Finally, a video about the kid from Marry Poppins!

  • @6023barath
    @6023barath 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    0:38 Bismarck and a few others were reponsible for the conversion of the Kingdom of Prussia to the German Empire, not Hitler lol. Prussia as a whole was abolished by the Allies after WW2

    • @the_ratmeister
      @the_ratmeister 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Prussia continued to exist as a subunit of the German Empire, later the Weimar Republic, then Nazi Germany. Had Germany not been dismantled after the war, Prussia would still exist, and the reason that war was fought the way it was, was ultimately Hitler.

  • @theapple8625
    @theapple8625 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Alliteration ftw!

  • @AsbestosMuffins
    @AsbestosMuffins 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    "I CAN FIX THIS" says man desperately shoveling cash into the furnace

  • @thegibbonisreal
    @thegibbonisreal 2 ปีที่แล้ว +38

    And 16 years later the remaining major banks drove the US economy into the ground to the tune of an estimated $12.8 trillion.
    Also
    Made 23.1 million Americans, or 15% of the public unemployed
    Cost 9.3 million Americans their health insurance.
    And 11 million homeowners, almost 1 in 4, were saddled with mortgages higher than the value of their homes.
    No one went to prison, the failing banks were bailed out with public money (whilst their CEO's continued to draw multi million dollar bonuses) and federal oversight and regulation remained unchanged.
    Is'nt capitalism great?

    • @SuperSMT
      @SuperSMT 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      yea it's pretty great

    • @bbgun061
      @bbgun061 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That’s not capitalism, it’s cronyism and corruption.

    • @MaseraSteve
      @MaseraSteve 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      It's people trust to loan and store all of their live savings on stranger facility.. i never put all of my assets there. Just 30%. Some went jobless and become poor? So what have bank to do with it? More like it pointing toward usual incompetent government there..

  • @drisblones
    @drisblones 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Its amazing how some people are allowed to fail and it's not held against them

    • @JohnRay1969
      @JohnRay1969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      People are of course allowed to fail, that's just humanity. It's what one does with the failure that becomes illegal, immoral or destructive.

  • @Brick-Life
    @Brick-Life 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Awesome man!

  • @silverfox8615
    @silverfox8615 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The old Martingale betting strategy: keep doubling your betting size. What could go wrong?

  • @SmokeyChipOatley
    @SmokeyChipOatley 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    How is nobody talking about how he essentially got a slap on the wrist for doing all that? Here in the US you get sent to prison for decades for doing a heck of a lot less.

    • @felixbabuf5726
      @felixbabuf5726 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      In case you didn't get the memo, there's a different set of laws for rich assholes all over the world. And it's made of nothing but slaps on the wrist.

    • @hiveminded741
      @hiveminded741 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      People working at banks dont go to jail silly, living in the US you should know that especially

  • @thokim84
    @thokim84 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Anyone who destroys a bank is a hero. Forever.

  • @matthewmiller1865
    @matthewmiller1865 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    You forgot about the part where he actually made the first 20k back then realized he could cover any losses this way and kept doing it

  • @powderedwater4742
    @powderedwater4742 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    "And bank after the work bank" thanks for clearing that up

  • @justfrankjustdank2538
    @justfrankjustdank2538 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    "economists are rea contributors to society and arent scam artists"

    • @xp8969
      @xp8969 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Steal $2 BILLION: get 4 years in prison
      Use fake $20 bill: get executed with no trial

    • @thomasaquinas354
      @thomasaquinas354 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Stock traders are not economists. An economist would have more common ground with a philosopher than a stock trader.