SocGen management look like complete idiots and liars, how
do immoral and incompetent people like these even get these jobs?

If in fact what SocGen says is true, which I doubt, and that
Jérôme Kerviel "...out-fooled the world's most sophisticated control system", why fire this wizard?

Instead, just think how useful he could have been to them in designing a vastly more "sophisticated control system", one that they could have then marketed throughout the World.

Peter, Vancouver,

As with all investment 'bankers', the greater the potential reward, the larger the risks they will take. After all, it's not their money and if their bets go right they pick up massive bonuses. If they go wrong they earn a lot of notoriety and, as mentioned above, admiration as a folk hero in France. Paying gigantic bonuses creates huge egos, enormous greed and a completely cavalier attitude.
How many more 'gunslinger' Kerviels are out there in the investment banking world ?

Richard , London, England

Smells like some of the executives may have broken trade laws, they may have known the illicit trading was going on, some may even have profited by it. This is an interesting story.

Jeff Dunham, Worry, USA

My view is that if he did make the money back and the bank only found out when they reaped the profits then they would have covered the whole thing up.now that the trade made losses, socgen pulled out as they clearly panicked.Good traders such as myself go on one rule and one rule only - beleive in yourself!

jay, london, london

To make money, you have to be willing to risk and this kid understood the idea. I have no doubt he would have recovered the money. SocGen should have promoted him and tried to support his efforts. They panicked and sustained losses are the product ... anybody have this kid's contact info? I'm hiring

Donald, New York, NY

If I bought the majority of the worlds corn suppliers and left the corn in warehouses to go mouldy, then share prices would go through the roof for corn, because there would be a lot less corn, hence more demand.

Therefore I could make lots of money from NOT trading.

Share trading is in itself immoral, people can use it to take advantage of everyone else's lives. Just look at his first big win, he profited from peoples deaths in a terrorist attack. Share trading is usury, usurers are responsible for 99% of the worlds problems from wars to drug dealing, it should be outlawed full stop.

Peter Johnson, Northwich, Cheshire

'the trader outfooled the world's most sophisticated control system' Would this be the same system that automates his line magaer asking him what he is doing and how is he doing it? Of course his bosses knew he was up to something they just turned a blind eye as they all do when its going their way.

imon, Soton,

This kind of huge long positions could not be cashed out without loosing its value.
So Mr.Bouton was completely right to unwind the position as quick as possible but I would recommand that the senior management of Societe Generale put in place an new training program for their dealers and ask them to count € 1 billion in cash.

cevat, Istanbul,

certainly seems like the bank lost it's nerve. They would have been better off not discovering the trades. Kerviel could have made some more money for them. These institutions shouldn't any unauthorised employee engage in derivatives trading if they are so worried; not just take the money from unauthorised trades with senior executives taking the credit for 'devising' such products

Kaushik, Budapest, Hungary

The whole question of trust is taking a terrible hammering. The only winners are those who"invest" (aka gamble) with our (little peoples') money.
And they walk off with their bonuses afterwards, and often into another overpaid job.
As for French banks, they need another 1789. Soon.

A J Scott, Draguignan, France

I too read the leaked report of the interrogation in le Monde yesterday. Does anyone know how it was leaked? I also liked the bit about the 1.4 billion profit at the end of last year, which he felt unable to reveal, and he subsequently deliberately lost. Of course it is his version, and we don't necessarily have to believe it all. The impression it leaves with me is: 1) He had been able to circumvent completely the SocGen controls, and he was entirely free to do what he wanted. 2) that others were doing similar things, as the traders were quite used to swapping desks and codes. and 3) He had lost any sense of reality, perhaps not surprising for a quiet guy who kept to himself. If he had had any sense, he would have kept the sums lower.

If I had been him, I would have cashed in the 1.4 billion, revealed it, and then left - or taken the sack, if that was the consequence. He would have got another job easily. But hindsight is wonderful, isn't it?

Alex, Paris, France

I am with the lawyers on this one, good luck to you Jerome.

Neil, Toronto, Ont