Merrill Lynch currency trader investigated over $400m loss

FT ^ | 03/07/09 | Adrian Cox, Peter Garnham and Greg Farrell

[TigerLikesRooster]

Merrill Lynch currency trader investigated over $400m loss

By Adrian Cox and Peter Garnham in London and Greg,Farrell in New York

Published: March 7 2009 02:00 | Last updated: March 7 2009 02:00

A Merrill Lynch currency trader has been suspended after racking up more than $400m in undisclosed losses in recent months, raising further questions about the financial health of the investment bank bought by Bank of America last September.

Merrill is poring over the books of Alexis Stenfors, a London currency trader, who was suspended after Norwegian and Swedish currency trades went wrong, according to people familiar with the situation. Merrill is in talks with UK regulators after uncovering what it called a trading "irregularity" in London.

The trading losses are another blow to the once mighty Wall Street firm that made a $27.6bn overall loss last year and was forced to sell to Bank of America to avoid bankruptcy.

"During a recent evaluation of certain positions, we discovered an irregularity," the bank said in a statement yesterday without giving details.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Tempest]

I hate how the government wants to punish such a resourcesful guy. He’s one of the producers in this great nation! Leave him alone! He will help stimulate the economy when he spends his ill gotten gains just like every other corporate welfare loser out there suffering...

[Steely Tom]

Merrill is poring over the books of Alexis Stenfors, a London currency trader, who was suspended after Norwegian and Swedish currency trades went wrong, according to people familiar with the situation.

I'd like to know exactly what "went wrong" means in this context.

[SAJ]

A lot of people last year got NOK and SEK (Norwegian Krone and Swedish Krona, respectively) wrong. NOK went well higher than many folks thought it would because of the spike in crude prices, while not many expected SEK to be as weak as it has been for a year or so.

Trading either of these against EUR or CHF (Swiss Franc) has been **very** treacherous for some time. As a (reasonably informed) guess, our hero at Merrill was likely long JPY/NOK and/or EUR/NOK...and refused to take his losses, ultimately losing 9 figures.

Just this past week JP Morgan Chase pulled their longstanding long NOK/CHF trade. Must've cost them a bundle, too.

[tvdog12345]

More bezzle. Call Karl Denniger.

[AndyJackson]

The only problem with your post is that there are a lot of Freepers who actually subscribe to that point of view.

[Toddsterpatriot]

A Merrill Lynch currency trader has been suspended after racking up more than $400m in undisclosed losses in recent months

What kind of rinky-dink compliance/risk department are they running there?

[SAJ]

Apparently, the same type as was run at Baring's and Sumitomo and Societe Generale.

;^)