Rogue trader

So yesterday in the news, there was a story about a rogue trader in France that lost over 7 BILLION dollars in the stock market. The odd part was that he was only a mid-level trader who just happened to know how to bypass the checks the bank had in place to catch fraud. But you would think banks would have better security in place after what happened to Barings bank back in 1995. And how in the world is it even possible to lose 7 BILLION dollars by a mid-level trader? Heads need to roll in that bank. And I do not mean just that trader and his superiors but most of the internal security folks who are supposed to catch these rogues before they cause such losses. As well as the head honchos at the company.

I am still in disbelief that a person could lose 7 BILLION dollars for a bank before anyone noticed. It just should not be possible. Now I wonder if the bank can survive such a debacle. Barings bank, the formerly venerable institution that was in business for over 2 centuries in the UK shuttered its doors and that fraud by Nick Leeson back in 1995 only lost a little over a billion. Of course, maybe that has to do with inflation, but still I just cannot get over the fact that the guy lost 7 BILLION dollars. And you know that if there is one rogue trader, there just might be another. If not at this particular bank, maybe another bank...