Hugo Bouleau’s (pseudonym of the author) book was for me, perhaps the most riveting reading of 2008. I like to underline important sentences in books, it’s a habit I picked up from a history teacher in secondary school. Looking back through ‘The Final Crash’ I can safely say I went through a whole pencil!
Bouleau writes the book not only from his practitioner experience as an asset manager for a large private bank in the Channel Islands (he is also a fellow of the Securities & Investment Institute), not only from his educational background from City University in London, but from that of a concerned citizen of the world who realises the core issue of the financial crisis, the one that remains largely uncovered in the day to day reporting, that of debt and leverage, in particular, that of irresponsible debt, and excessive leverage.
Bouleau has since changed careers, having recently started a Sharia compliant Islamic Finance operation. I caught up with him on the phone just as …