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Monday 11 December 2023 Dublin: 6°C

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Nick Leeson: I sat my sons down this week to pass on the hard lessons I have learned
In an exclusive piece for TheJournal.ie, the former ‘rogue’ trader writes of his panic and embarrassment on this week 20 years ago as he collapsed a 232-year-old bank.
Nick Leeson: Positive talk sounds hollow in the corridors of power
Talking up the state of the economy got us into this mess in the first place – but things are not looking up for the average man and woman.
Nick Leeson: In debt? Don't panic.
The former trader’s new book tries to help people tackles debt and find a path through the stress and complexities of dealing with financial institutions.
Nick Leeson: I’ve observed the need for debt solution – now I’m acting on it
Former trader Nick Leeson explains why he has begun to work as a mediator between indebted people and the banks…
Nick Leeson: The banks don't care so we need to look after each other
“As austerity bites to the knuckle, soup kitchens spring up around the country and children are sent to school hungry. It just seems so terribly wrong.”
Nick Leeson: Using puppets for Anglo musical is very apt indeed.
Former trader Nick Leeson can’t believe he wasn’t a shoo-in for Anglo: The Musical – but he’s pretty confident that puppets are the right choice to play inaminate objects who can’t take control of their own situation.
Nick Leeson: Here's one thing to congratulate the Irish regulators for...
…Keeping out extortionate ‘payday’ lending. Looking at the horror cases in the UK, they should keep up the good work.
Nick Leeson: I'm not a motivational speaker. THIS GUY is.
Former trader Nick Leeson is a regular on the after-dinner speaking circuit – but he was blown away by the story of Aron Ralston, with whom he recently shared a stage…
Nick Leeson: Look to Swedish model of dealing with toxic banks
The former trader has been visiting Sweden – and looking at how their management of a bank crisis contrasts strongly with the Irish government’s treatment of Anglo Irish Bank.
Nick Leeson: Here's why I won't be buying into the iPhone 5...
…and it has a lot to do with my bad memories of The Brick. My wife on the other hand…
Nick Leeson: This is what I wish for my daughter
As he watches his daughter embark on adult life, former trader Nick Leeson ponders the meaning of the word ‘maturity’ – and admits he himself is still a work in progress…
Column: You know what? Doing time does help you move on in life.
There is little to recommend a spell in prison, says former trader Nick Leeson, but his jail time gave him time to tackle his mistakes – and make a better go at life when he emerged.
Column: Nick Leeson on why Seán Quinn is in denial
This week, the former trader says that he was most interested in how the former richest man in Ireland has been performing under media scrutiny…
Column: HSBC funnelled money for drug kingpins? This isn't surprising.
We’re not surprised any more by unscrupulous behaviour by banks – but HSBC’s actions are as bad as it gets, writes Nick Leeson.
Column: Make an example of bankers. Just do it.
Former trader Nick Leeson says an example was quite rightly made of him when his actions led to the collapse of Barings Bank – why isn’t that happening now?
Nick Leeson: On Mick Wallace and his 'false economy'
The Wexford TD is symptomatic of the move from delayed gratification to credit consumerism which we are still struggling to shake off, writes Nick Leeson.
Nick Leeson: Young man's tragedy is part of national illness of suicide
Former trader Nick Leeson knows what it is to be on the brink of despair – and says communicating the pain is vital to be able to pull back from the edge.
Column: Let's stop pussyfooting around the Bloxham debacle
Former trader Nick Leeson is fed up with the light-touch reporting on the Bloxham demise – and with what he deems as inaction by the Central Bank and Financial Regulator.
Column: Low rate of lending to Germany has put them in driving seat
The gap between those who can access the markets and those who can’t continues to wide, writes Nick Leeson…
Column: Nick Leeson - My heart says 'No', but my head says 'Yes'
TheJournal.ie columnist nails his colours to the mast and says that a ‘Yes’ vote is the only message to send out if we want access to funds at the keenest rates possible.
Column: There IS white collar crime here - it's just that no-one is jailed for it
This week, regular TheJournal.ie columnist Nick Leeson says that Ireland technically doesn’t have white collar crime – but only because no-one is being properly punished for bad business actions.
Column: Spending public money - where's the master plan?
Former trader Nick Leeson has an idea to sort out the State coffers – get a bunch of hard-nosed business people to assess the waste and root out value for money.
Column: Did you hear the one about the developer, the banker and the politician?
Former trader Nick Leeson on bidding wars at boom-time black-tie balls… and how someone saw fit to flick the over-ride switch so the excess could continue.
Column: Could we learn something from India's banking ethics?
The culture of ‘profit at any cost’ appears to be on the wane in Mumbai, where Nick Leeson has been studying the market – but he’s wondering if the idea of ethics in banking is just ticking a box.
Column: Young people need to reject the ideas my generation grew up with
If the country is to emerge from the current recession and austerity measures, young people need to become more entrepreneurial writes Nick Leeson
Column: All the warnings of cancer were there, but I ignored them
Former trader Nick Leeson writes about his experience of cancer, and how it taught him the overriding importance of knowing the signs.
Column: We’re all in this together? Yeah, right.
Politicians tell us we’re all in the same boat – but their expenses and other wasteful decisions tell a different story, writes former trader Nick Leeson.
Column: It's the turn of banks to pay a financial transaction tax
This week, former trader Nick Leeson says it’s time Enda Kenny stop playing softball with the banks and siding with UK politicians – and focus on getting restitution for his citizens.
Column: I don't have political leanings - but neither, it seems, has Labour
This week, former trader Nick Leeson explains how he left London believing all UK political parties were the same – and how it looks like Ireland’s Labour party is also losing its Robin Hood status.
Column: Nick Leeson's 4 lessons learned from 2011
Ireland and a euro break-up, the truth about tribunals, white collar crime and the dangers of ‘pay day’ loans – former trader Nick Leeson rings the closing bell on 2011.
Column: Why David Cameron made the right decision...
Those in the eurozone are facing a ‘lost decade’, writers former trader Nick Leeson – and who would want to hand over more policy-making power to the managers of that crisis?
Column: New CEO of AIB knows the tale of two islands
Former trader Nick Leeson writes that David Duffy should be up to the challenge of bringing AIB to heel – after all, Duffy oversaw the takeover of Barings Bank in Singapore, the very bank brought down by Leeson’s actions.
Column: Whistleblowers in banking are doing the right thing - but not for themselves
Former trader Nick Leeson finds that those who try to expose problems in the banking sector and would be heroes anywhere else are made pariahs in their world.
Column: Confused about what will happen to the euro? Everyone is.
Former trader Nick Leeson speaks to those working at the heart of financial markets and finds that uncertainty and confusion is thwarting a move forward.
Column: “Growing up, I never expected to spend a day in prison – never mind four years”
Former trader Nick Leeson says that keeping his mistakes hidden made matters worse and – literally – ate him up inside. With the rise in mental health problems, we should all learn to talk it out…
Column: Michael Fingleton's expense claims are despicable - but they are tip of the iceberg
Former trader Nick Leeson laments the lack of real will to bring ex-Irish Nationwide chief Michael Fingleton to account but notes that the excesses of certain individuals are distracting us from the wider banking scandal.
Column: Greek crisis might not be all bad for Ireland
Former trader Nick Leeson argues that while Greece would take a long time to recover from a default, it could have a number of outcomes for Irish fortunes…
Column: David Drumm and Anglo fiddled while Rome burned
Former trader Nick Leeson concludes that revelations about how Anglo Irish Bank ‘partied’ at the end shows the measure of executives’ contempt – and the extent of David Drumm’s abuse of his post.
Column: Time to think outside the box on Irish banks
Amid calls for Irish investors overseas to direct their funds closer to home, Nick Leeson says the idea of reversing NAMA loans back to banks is well worth considering.
Column: Herd mentality led the UK riots – and it’s also what got us into economic trouble
Former trader Nick Leeson argues that, while it might not seem obvious at first, the psychology behind street rioters is not dissimilar to that which drove the markets, the bankers and property developers into a speculation frenzy.