Well I've been a director of an investment bank and I think that's rubbish too. The problem with Nick Leeson was that he was working in both the front and back offices simultaneously, not that he had an understanding of back office procedures. JK probably did have help from the back office, but he could have got that with or without understanding the detail of hiding the position sizes. Wherever I've worked, everybody has been encouraged to fully understand the business as a whole. It's part of being a professional in the industry to have a good grasp of the business processes.
As far as finance goes, I think you're way off the mark with the racism remarks. Money is colour blind and it shows if you glance at any dealing room I've ever been in. My last team had people from Nigeria, India, South Africa, Portugal, Turkey, US, France, Hong Kong, New Zealand and even one from Essex. People come from all over the world to work in London and dealing rooms are a melting pot of nationalities. Nobody cares where you're from, they just care whether you can do a good job.
If you're looking for a job in finance you've got two big problems. Firstly for a new entrant in finance your educational qualifications aren't average, they're mediocre. Pure educational qualifications are much less important once you've got a track record in employment, but you haven't. Secondly, there are currently loads of good people with excellent experience who have been freshly made redundant from jobs in the city and there are relatively few job opportunities. Lots of supply, little demand - not a great time to be looking for that breakthrough opportunity.