1. What was Nick Leeson's strategy to earn trading profits on derivatives? Nicholas Leeson was a rogue trader who reduced the value of the venerable Baring Brothers & Co (BB&Co) Bank from roughly $500 million dollars to $1.60. Leeson traded futures contracts on the Nikkei 225 and on Japanese government bonds without authorization while management at Barings, the Singapore International Monetary Exchange, the Osaka Stock Exchange, and other governing bodies in Britain and Singapore disregarded or failed to recognize the potential for financial disaster. The failure of Barings Bank provides a lesson in the risks and responsibilities involved in organizing and monitoring derivatives trading. Baring Brothers History Baring Brothers had a long history in the London financial district with the distinction of having gone global with its operations in the eighteenth century. Founded in the late 1700s, the bank was turned into a general-banking and mercantile operation by Sir Francis Baring. During his tenure, the bank developed several lines of business: underwriting bonds, accepting deposits, and trading commodities.