The Collapse of BaringsIn February 1995, the unthinkable happened: one of the oldest and most respected merchant banks in London went bankrupt. The story that rogue Barings trader Nick Leeson lost hundreds of millions of pounds speculating in the Far East was front page news throughout the world. Accused of fraud on a massive scale, Leeson first strenuously opposed being tried in Singapore, then eventually was taken there from his prison in Frankfurt. In December 1995 he