Rogue trader Nick Leeson sings for software firms

Nick Leeson, the rogue derivatives trader whose fraudulent transactions brought down London's venerable Barings Bank, has a new gig. And it is one for which his expertise in covering up $1.4 billion in losses is perfectly suited. "Use compliance software and don't get burned by crooks like me," is the essence of his message. Mr. Leeson, who served three years in prison after the 1995 collapse of Barings, was in Dublin, Ireland, this month delivering that message on behalf of Paper Dock, an Irish data management solutions company that sells automated compliance products from Long Beach, Calif.-based Laserfiche, a unit of Compulink Management Center Inc. Rogue trading isn't an isolated event, Mr. Leeson told the audience, citing losses that have occurred at London-based Barclays Bank PLC and Crdit Agricole SA in Paris. "My own actions in the period 1992 to 1995 were fraudulent, and I was duly punished," he said. "But my downfall distracted attention from the shortfalls of the system. Barings would never have collapsed without the incompetence of others who should have known what was going on but either failed to detect it, didn't properly investigate or turned a blind eye," Mr. Leeson said. "Therefore, money spent on risk management, in my opinion, is money well spent," he advised. Now, there is a man whose opinions about risk management count.