Story Films is planning “The Man Who Broke The Bank,” a four-part drama series exploring the collapse of Barings Bank and the trader Nick Leeson at the center of it.
The story charts the meteoric rise and fall of plasterer’s son Leeson, a young employee at Barings Bank appointed General Manager of the Trading Floor on the Singapore Exchange.
He becomes one of Barings’ key traders but hides huge losses as he gambles away Barings’ money until the well over £800 million owed leads to Barings going bankrupt.
The project is based on research from multiple books, archived material and first-person accounts including recent interviews with Leeson himself by BAFTA-winning writer Tony Marchant.
The story had already made it to screen back in 1999 when Ewan McGregor starred as Leeson in the James Dearden-directed “Rogue Trader” based on the man’s autobiography.
Source: Variety
