Arogue trader at the Union Bank of Switzerland's London office has cost the firm $2.3 billion as a result of unauthorized trades. The incident is an embarrassment for the banking giant and is one more reminder of the need for tighter controls on proprietary trading and risk management in financial institutions.
Bankers will fight back against such restrictions, but the regularity with which such incidents has occurred is proof that regulators must persist in their efforts.
Mr. Kweku Adoboli is a 31-year old investment banker who worked at UBS' Delta One desk, a part of the London office that executed trades for clients, usually helping them to speculate or hedge the performance of a basket of currencies. Delta One also trades the bank's own money.