Wednesday 9 April 2008

Nick Leeson: how to spot a rogue trader

Nick Leeson has been speaking at a conference organized by Futures and Options Week. Apparently, he was supposed to be telling everyone how you spot a rogue trader, but ended up saying he wasn't really sure. I wonder how much he got paid for that.

My friend Keith Busby considers himself something of an expert in this area, and he told me, 'It sounds like money for old rope. I could do a few talks like Leeson and make a mint. The difference is I really know my stuff. The best way to track down one of these scum-sucking rogues is to go into a bank and do a soul scan on the whole staff. Yes, it's expensive, but it works.'

Well, I'm not sure about this. Keith still doesn't know who the HBOS rogues were. He told me he was going to go after them like Steven Seagal, but nothing happened. In fact, I've been told by someone high up at HBOS that Keith made matters worse. Something to do with voodoo dolls. Andy Hornby hit the roof. That's all I know, and I didn't ask about the details. I'm actually thinking of giving Keith - and Maurice - a wide berth from now on. I'm going up in the world. Maybe it's about time I cut loose of these losers.