Not trying to shy away from his guilt in accumulating £827 million in losses that brought down Barings, Leeson said he would have been found out much earlier if the different organisations, regulators, and even departments within the bank had shared information. “The regulation and governance isn’t good enough”, he told the RSA audience.
Banks and financial institutions rely too much on the human element, Leeson warned, saying that automatic, digital checks and controls should be implemented so that mistakes are not overlooked.
When that is said, the trading systems and algorithms used by the financial world change more rapidly than the control systems. Leeson added, “Every time there is a scandal, it is down to poor systems and controls”. That is the only reason why something so big can go undetected for so long.
“Systems and controls are the way to go”, Leeson concluded. The man who has been described as “the only person to write a cheque and the bank bounces”.