If you were following the financial world in the early 2010s, you couldn't escape the name Nicholas Dunbar. He was the guy who pulled back the curtain on the "wizardry" of Wall Street right when the world was still reeling from the 2008 crash. People wanted answers about how things got so messy, and Dunbar’s book The Devil’s Derivatives became a sort of bible for anyone trying to understand how complex math almost blew up the global economy.
But then, things got a bit quieter on the mainstream front. You didn't see him on every cable news panel anymore.
So, what happened to Nicholas Dunbar? Did he just cash out and disappear to a beach? Not exactly. Honestly, he just moved deeper into the machinery of the financial markets he used to criticize. He didn't stop investigating; he just changed how he delivers the message.
The Shift From Newsrooms to Data Platforms
Nicholas Dunbar’s career didn't end with his stint at Bloomberg or his famous columns for Reuters Breakingviews. It evolved. After years of writing about how banks hide risk, he decided to build something that actually tracks it in real-time.
In 2015, he launched Risky Finance.
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Basically, instead of just writing 1,000-word op-eds about why a certain bank's balance sheet looked fishy, he created a browser-based platform that uses data visualization to show it. It’s a tool for pros. If you’re a risk manager or a serious investor, you’ve probably seen his work there. He uses his background as a trained physicist—he studied at Manchester, Cambridge, and Harvard—to crunch numbers that would give most people a headache.
As of early 2026, he is still very much active. Just this month, in January 2026, Dunbar has been appearing as the editor of Global Trading, a sister publication to Traders Magazine. He’s been hosting podcasts like Open Order, talking to big-league executives about how AI is changing the Japanese trade lifecycle and how capital markets are becoming more automated.
He’s moved from "the guy who warns us about the crash" to "the guy who explains how the new, automated market actually works."
Why He Still Matters (and What He’s Doing Now)
You might have heard his name recently in relation to local government scandals, too. This is one of the coolest "second acts" in financial journalism. A few years back, Dunbar teamed up with Vedanta Hedging and even worked on a documentary for Channel 4 called How Councils Blow Your Millions.
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He wasn't just talking about abstract numbers. He was looking at LOBO (Lender Option Borrower Option) loans.
- He helped Newham Council negotiate a deal that saved them roughly £143 million.
- He exposed how complex derivatives were being sold to local politicians who didn't really understand what they were signing.
- He proved that the same "devil’s derivatives" he wrote about in 2011 were still causing real-world damage in local communities.
It's rare to see a journalist go from writing the book on a subject to actually stepping into the room and saving a city millions of dollars. That’s the level Nicholas Dunbar is operating on now.
Nicholas Dunbar in 2026: The New Frontier
The current focus for Dunbar seems to be the intersection of Agentic AI and market resilience. While everyone else is worried about AI writing bad poetry, Dunbar is looking at how AI agents are orchestrating post-trade workflows.
He's recently been interviewing leaders from firms like Broadridge and Northern Trust. He’s looking at why the 24/7 trading cycle is rewriting market flows and why "voice trading"—you know, humans actually talking on the phone—is still hanging on in the Japanese government bond market despite all the tech.
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He’s also a Senior Editor for the Economist Group. He hasn't left the prestigious circles; he’s just broadened his scope.
What You Can Learn From His Journey
If you're looking for Nicholas Dunbar today, don't look for him on the bestseller list of 2026. Look for him in the technical reports of Global Trading or on his data platform.
His transition teaches us something important about the financial world: Expertise doesn't go away; it just gets more specialized. If you want to follow in his footsteps or simply protect your own investments, the lesson is clear: don't trust the surface-level narrative. Dunbar’s whole career has been about digging into the "notes" of financial statements where the real secrets are buried.
Next Steps for Following Market Risk:
To stay on top of the kind of forensic financial analysis Dunbar pioneered, you should start by looking at bank Pillar 3 disclosures. It sounds boring, but that’s where the "hidden" risks live. You can also follow his current work at Global Trading to see how he’s analyzing the shift toward 24-hour global markets. If you’re involved in local government or corporate treasury, looking into the history of LOBO loans is a must—it's a masterclass in why "simple" is usually better than "innovative" when it comes to debt.