The board of Société Générale renewed its support today for Daniel Bouton, the chairman and chief executive, despite the French Finance Minister suggesting that the bank should “change the captain” after the discovery of a €5 billion (£3.7 billion) trading loss.

The backing from the 15-strong board marks the second time that it has given its support to Mr Bouton, who offered to resign after the scandal, involving 31-year-old trader Jérôme Kerviel, broke last week.

Christine Lagarde, the Finance Minister, became one in a growing political chorus, including President Sarkozy, in calling for changes at the top of the country's second-largest bank, which she described as being in "crisis".

The board said that it had "renewed its confidence" in both Mr Bouton and Philippe Citerne, the co-chief executive and heir apparent

Société Générale has now set up a “special committee” of independent directors to ensure that the cause and the size of its losses have been fully identified and that measures "have been or will be" put in place to avoid a repetition of the scandal.

The committee includes Antoine Jeancourt-Galignani, who is already a Société Générale director, and Jean Azéma, the chief executive of Groupama, the French insurer.

It will be chaired by Jean-Martin Folz, the former chairman and chief executive PSA Peugeot Citroën, the French carmaker.

In addition, PricewaterhouseCoopers has been brought in to work with the committee and will liaise with the bank's audit committee.

The board will hold its next meeting on February 20.

Mr Kerviel has been released on bail after admitting making billions of pounds of irregular trades. He claimed that he was not the only trader who was making large bets.

Mr Kerviel has already disclosed that Eurex, the derivatives exchange controlled by the German stock exchange, contacted Société Générale in November to flag up his trades — two months before the irregular trades were fully investigated and announced to the market.

Times Recommends

• B&B hit by £18m fraud charge
• Mortgage rescue fund at the ready
• Zoom airline collapses and halts all flights