Nick Leeson: The man who fell to Earth

Galway-based Nick Leeson now gets paid to retell the story of how his rogue trading brought down Barings Bank. But he insists his values have changed

Nick Leeson: ‘At first, it was quite emotional when you’re telling all the stories . . . [but now] there’s no emotional baggage’ Pic: Andrew Downes

It no longer scares Nick Leeson when his phone rings. It seems like a small thing, but it wasn’t always this way. There was a time before the world’s most notorious rogue trader collapsed Barings Bank that any noise put him on edge, alerting him to the possibility that his fraudulent trades had been detected and his deception revealed.

“At the very beginning I (was) expecting to be caught every minute of every ...