Barings Bank collapsed in 1995 after rogue trader Nick Leeson’s losses.
Barings Bank, Britain’s oldest merchant bank, became insolvent after trader Nick Leeson accumulated enormous unauthorized losses while working in Singapore. He hid losses in an error account and continued trading in an attempt to recover them.
The losses grew to about £827 million, more than twice the bank’s available trading capital. Barings entered administration in February 1995 and was subsequently sold to the Dutch financial group ING for a nominal one pound.
The case became a classic example of weak internal controls. Leeson was responsible for both trading and settling trades, allowing losses to remain hidden. He fled Singapore but was arrested in Germany and later sentenced to prison in Singapore.