Howie Hubler

Howard Hubler III, known as Howie Hubler, is an American former Morgan Stanley bond trader who is best known for his role in the fifth largest trading loss in history. He made a successful short trade in risky subprime mortgages in the U.S., but to fund his trade he sold insurance on AAA-rated mortgage-backed collateralized debt obligations that market analysts considered less risky, but also turned out to be worthless, resulting in a massive net loss on his trades. His actions while handling credit default swaps (CDSs) directly resulted in the loss of roughly US$9 billion during the 2008 financial crisis—the 2nd largest single trading loss in Wall Street history when adjusted for inflation, and the largest at the time. The only bigger single losses in nominal terms came in 2012 with Bruno Iksil (also trading CDSs) and in 2021 when Bill Hwang lost around $10 billion on total return swaps.

Early life and education Hubler was born and raised in Boonton, New Jersey, the son of a real estate broker. He attended Montclair State College, where he played American football. He has refused all requests to be interviewed on the topic of his time at Morgan Stanley.

In the 2015 Adam McKay film The Big Short, Hubler's story is presented under the pseudonym of a Morgan Stanley trader named "Benny Kleeger".