the following contains a list of trading losses of the equivalent of usd100 million or higher. due to the secretive nature of many hedge funds and fund managers, some notable losses may never be reported to the public. the list is ordered by the real amount lost, starting with the greatest.
# |
nominal amount lost |
usd fx rate
at time of loss |
usd equivalent
at time
of loss |
usd inflation
since loss
until
2007-12-31 |
real amount lost |
country |
company |
source
of loss |
year |
person(s)
associated
with incident |
1 |
eur 4.9 bn |
1.45 |
usd 7.1 bn |
0 % |
usd 7.1 bn |
france |
société général |
european index futures |
2008 |
jérôme kerviel |
2 |
usd 6.5 bn |
1 |
usd 6.5 bn |
3 % |
usd 6.7 bn |
canada |
amaranth advisors |
gas futures |
2006 |
brian hunter |
3 |
usd 4.6 bn |
1 |
usd 4.6 bn |
27 % |
usd 5.85 bn |
united states |
long term capital management |
interest rate and equity derivatives |
1998 |
john meriwether |
4 |
jpy 285 bn |
109.5 |
usd 2.6 bn |
32 % |
usd 3.44 bn |
japan |
sumitomo corporation |
copper futures |
1996 |
yasuo hamanaka |
5 |
usd 1.7 bn |
1 |
usd 1.7 bn |
40 % |
usd 2.38 bn |
united states |
orange county |
interest rate derivatives |
1994 |
robert citron |
6 |
eur 1.4 bn |
1.25 |
usd 1.9 bn |
3 % |
usd 1.97 bn |
austria |
bawag |
foreign exchange trading |
2000 |
wolfgang flöttl, helmut elsner |
7 |
dem 2.63 bn |
0.52 |
usd 1.38 bn |
43 % |
usd 1.96 bn |
germany |
metallgesellschaft |
oil futures |
1993 |
heinz schimmelbusch |
8 |
gbp 827 mio |
1.6 |
usd 1.323 bn |
36 % |
usd 1.8 bn |
united kingdom |
barings bank |
nikkei futures |
1995 |
nick leeson |
9 |
jpy 103.4 bn |
94 |
usd 1.1 bn |
36 % |
usd 1.5 bn |
japan |
daiwa bank |
bonds |
1995 |
toshihide iguchi |
10 |
eur 0.60 bn |
|
usd 0.82 bn |
|
|
germany |
westlb |
common and preferred shares |
2007 |
friedhelm breuers |
11 |
cad 829 mio |
|
usd 0.8 bn |
|
|
united states |
bank of montreal |
natural gas options |
2007 |
david lee |
12 |
usd 0.69 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
aib/allfirst |
foreign exchange options |
2002 |
john rusnak |
13 |
gbp 0.4 bn |
|
usd 0.7 bn |
|
|
united kingdom |
morgan grenfell |
shares |
1997 |
peter young |
14 |
usd 0.6 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
askin capital managerment |
mortgage-backed securities |
1994 |
david askin |
15 |
usd 0.55 bn |
|
|
|
|
china |
china aviation oil (singapore) |
oil futures and options |
2004 |
chen jiulin |
16 |
chf 0.63 bn |
|
usd 0.5 bn |
|
|
|
united bank of switzerland |
equity derivatives |
1998 |
ramy goldstein |
17 |
usd 0.4 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
manhattan investment fund |
short it stocks during the internet bubble |
2000 |
michael berger |
18 |
eur 0.30 bn |
|
usd 0.4 bn |
|
|
austria |
hypo group alpe adria |
foreign exchange trading |
2004 |
|
19 |
eur 0.30 bn |
|
usd 0.4 bn |
|
|
|
dexia bank |
corporate bonds |
2001 |
|
20 |
dem 0.47 bn |
|
usd 0.36 bn |
|
|
germany |
herstatt bank |
foreign exchange trading |
1974 |
dany dattel |
21 |
usd 0.35 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
kidder peabody |
government bonds |
1994 |
joseph jett |
22 |
usd 0.35 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
calyon |
credit derivatives |
2007 |
richard "chip" bierbaum |
23 |
aud 0.36 bn |
|
usd 0.28 bn |
|
|
australia |
national australia bank |
foreign exchange trading |
2004 |
luke duffy |
24 |
usd 0.28 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
state of west virginia |
fixed income and interest rate derivatives |
1987 |
a. james manchin |
25 |
usd 0.2 bn |
|
|
|
|
china |
state reserves bureau |
copper futures |
2005 |
liu qibing |
26 |
usd 0.28 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
merrill lynch |
mortgages (ios and pos) trading |
1987 |
howard a. rubin |
27 |
usd 0.16 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
procter & gamble |
interest rate derivatives |
1994 |
raymond mains |
28 |
gbp 90 mio |
|
usd 0.2 bn |
|
|
united kingdom |
natwest |
interest rate options |
1997 |
kyriacos papouis |
29 |
usd 0.14 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
mf global |
wheat futures |
2008 |
evan dooley |
30 |
usd 0.11 bn |
|
|
|
|
united states |
cuyahoga county, ohio |
leveraged fixed income |
1994 |
|
31 |
sek 630 mio |
|
usd 0.1 bn |
|
|
sweden |
carnegie investment bank |
equity derivatives |
2007 |
|
32 |
usd 0.1 bn |
|
|
|
|
croatia |
riječka banka (rijeka bank) |
foreign exchange trading |
2002 |
eduard nodilo |
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