Individuals and institutions may likewise try to find arbitrage chances, as when the existing purchasing rate of an asset falls below the price specified in a futures contract to sell the asset. Speculative trading in derivatives acquired a good deal of prestige in 1995 when Nick Leeson, a trader at Barings Bank, made poor and unapproved investments in futures contracts.The true percentage of derivatives agreements utilized for hedging functions is unidentified, but it appears to be reasonably small. Likewise, derivatives contracts represent only 36% of the average firms' overall currency and rates of interest direct exposure. Nonetheless, we understand that numerous companies' derivatives activities have at least some speculative component for a variety of reasons.