Barings Bank goes bust

Baring Bank was brought down by the dealings of a Rogue Trader, Nick Leeson .

The trades were made on the Singapore Monetary Exchange during 1992-1994, culminating in a short straddle across the Singapore and Tokyo exchanges betting that the markets would not move overnight.

Unfortunately the Kobe earthquake struck early in the morning of the 17th January 1995 sending Asian markets into a tailspin.

Leeson left a note saying simply "I'm Sorry" and fled Singapore. Baring was made insolvent 26th February 1995.