Nick Leeson and the Collapse of Barings Bank: Socio-Technical Networks and the ‘Rogue Trader’

Abstract

This paper examines the collapse of Barings Bank, utilizing an extended analytical framework based on Callon's sociology of translation. It shows how Leeson linked himself inextricably with Barings’ executives need for profit, mobilizing them (and others) into defending him when his activities were subject to scrutiny. It goes on to explain the process through which Leeson effectively lost control of his socio-technical network, and concludes by examining the difficulty of Leeson's presentation of himself to the world as a ‘rogue trader’.