Barings Plc

Nicholas Leeson's hopes of avoiding trial in Singapore faded Wednesday when a court ruled that the trader who broke Barings bank can be extradited. A three-judge panel of the High Criminal Court in Frankfurt approved extradition on 11 of 12 charges of fraud, forgery and breach of trust. Leeson's lawyers said that they would appeal to Germany's highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court.

Nick Leeson, the highflying young trader who brought down Barings Bank with more than $1 billion in losses, returned home Sunday from a Singapore prison, ill, divorced, unemployed and under court order to account for every penny he spends. Looking pale but fit after 3 1/2 years in prison and a 13-hour flight from Singapore, Leeson said he regretted what he had done. "I'm not proud of my activities as a trader with Barings Bank in Singapore.

Asian stock markets plummeted early today and markets worldwide braced for a shock after Barings, parent of Britain's oldest investment bank and a major global stock trader, filed for bankruptcy protection late Sunday. The venerable bank disclosed that it has lost more than $789 million in "massive, unauthorized" trading of Asian derivative securities, wiping out its capital.

Nick Leeson, one feels, would relish the scene. It's a busy trading floor, strewn with a thousand discarded trading slips. In the pit, surrounded by banks of computer screens, crowds of young Asian dealers in garish striped jackets make hurried notes, wave and scream: "Sells nine-fifty bid for 500! Sell!" The noise deafens. High around the room, stock figures fluctuate on TV monitors. A big board shows the Nikkei index--18,370 and rising. The din intensifies.

There was poetic symmetry in a move by Parliament to outlaw the English gentleman's sport of fox hunting last week just as authorities hunted down the fugitive who reputedly outfoxed the ultimate English gentleman's bank. These otherwise unrelated events provided a sterling reminder of how, despite the leveling effects of two world wars, the issue of class still thoroughly permeates British life, from country sports to the City--London's equivalent of Wall Street.

Nick Leeson, one feels, would relish the scene. It's a busy trading floor, strewn with a thousand discarded trading slips. In the pit, surrounded by banks of computer screens, crowds of young Asian dealers in garish striped jackets make hurried notes, wave and scream: "Sells nine-fifty bid for 500! Sell!" The noise deafens. High around the room, stock figures fluctuate on TV monitors. A big board shows the Nikkei index--18,370 and rising. The din intensifies.

British Investigators Talk to Barings Trader: Jailed Barings bank trader Nicholas Leeson began talking to British fraud investigators, hoping to convince them that he deserves prison in Britain rather than Singapore, where he fears harsh treatment if convicted. The daylong session was held at Hoechst prison with two London police officers and an officer from the Serious Fraud Office, which investigates complex financial crimes in Britain.

Former Barings trader Nicholas Leeson offered Wednesday to help London regulators if he could stand trial in Britain instead of in Singapore. In an emotional letter read by his wife, Lisa, at a packed news conference, Leeson said he simply wants to come home. "At the end of the day, there are only two things that are precious to me--they are my wife and my family. I only ask that I be returned to the U.K. so that I can take my punishment. "I did not steal any money," Leeson wrote.

Trader Nicholas W. Leeson told a judge Monday that he won't respond to a charge of committing forgery against Barings bank until Germany obtains a formal extradition request from Singapore. The 28-year-old Briton, detained March 2 on his way home, would prefer to stand trial in Britain for his alleged role in the collapse of the venerable British bank. Monday's hearing was partly to see whether Leeson opposed extradition to Singapore.

The ignominious February collapse of Britain's oldest merchant bank was the stuff of gripping drama, its disappearance seemingly attributed to the hubris and blunders of a single ambitious young man operating from offices on this booming island nation. Not surprisingly, someone has concluded it would make a fine movie.

The collapse of Barings bank was precipitated by trader Nicholas Leeson, but "institutional incompetence" was ultimately to blame, the Singapore government said Tuesday. Citing the results of its inquiry into the collapse, the Finance Ministry said Barings showed a general lack of understanding of the futures trading business. The ministry said its inquiry, conducted by Price Waterhouse accountants, also found that Barings did not have enough internal controls. Barings collapsed Feb.

Nicholas Leeson's hopes of avoiding trial in Singapore faded Wednesday when a court ruled that the trader who broke Barings bank can be extradited. A three-judge panel of the High Criminal Court in Frankfurt approved extradition on 11 of 12 charges of fraud, forgery and breach of trust. Leeson's lawyers said that they would appeal to Germany's highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court.

Former Barings trader Nicholas Leeson said incompetence by his bosses and the Bank of England made the bank's losses much worse than they had to be, as he accepted the blame for the collapse of Britain's oldest merchant bank. In his first interview since Barings collapsed in February and his arrest in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 2, Leeson said failure by Barings managers to understand futures and options allowed him to rack up losses undetected for more than two years.

British Investigators Talk to Barings Trader: Jailed Barings bank trader Nicholas Leeson began talking to British fraud investigators, hoping to convince them that he deserves prison in Britain rather than Singapore, where he fears harsh treatment if convicted. The daylong session was held at Hoechst prison with two London police officers and an officer from the Serious Fraud Office, which investigates complex financial crimes in Britain.

Managers of Barings Bank, auditors and regulators all missed danger signals about trader Nick Leeson, whose losses brought down Britain's oldest merchant bank, an official inquiry reported Tuesday. The Board of Banking Supervision laid the major blame on Leeson, so far the only person facing criminal charges, but did not rule out the possibility that other Barings' employees or outsiders broke the law. The bank collapsed in February.