Daniel Bouton withdrew his offer to resign as chairman of Société Générale yesterday, in an announcement likely to presage a fierce behind-the-scenes battle with Michel Pébereau, his counterpart at BNP Paribas.

Signalling new determination to see out the crisis provoked by the biggest rogue trader scandal in history, Mr Bouton said: “I stay, I am the pilot, I drive on.”

His comments will dismay executives at BNP Paribas, who portray Mr Bouton as an obstacle to a friendly merger between the two French banks. They had been hoping that he would go quietly after twice telling SocGen’s board that he was prepared to stand down in the wake of the €4.82 billion (£3.6 billion) loss provoked by Jérôme Kerviel, a junior trader.

“Of course, my resignation offer remains on the table. The board will decide to examine it when it wants,” Mr Bouton said in January.

However, in an interview with Les Echos yesterday, his tone changed. “I offered my resignation twice. The board refused it twice. We’re not going to continue like this indefinitely. My resignation is no longer on the table.”

His words were designed to show that he had overcome what colleagues say was the trauma of seeing his lifetime’s work at the bank endangered by the unauthorised positions taken by Mr Kerviel. Nicknamed “Two Brains” because of his renowned intelligence, Mr Bouton, 57, was described by observers as close to shellshocked after the discovery of the losses.

“It hit me right in the plexus,” he told Les Echos.

His refusal to leave provoked an immediate dip in SocGen’s share price as investors speculated that a deal with BNP Paribas would be less likely.

Not only is Mr Bouton known to be an ardent defender of his bank’s independence, he also has a venomous relationship with Mr Pébereau after a series of takeover battles over the past decade. Other SocGen executives are understood to be more open to a tie-up with BNP Paribas, which has said that it is considering a bid. Pierre Chédeville, an analyst at Crédit Mutuel-CIC, said that Mr Bouton’s announcement was intended to “end the period of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the bank and its possible purchase by a competitor”.

Daniel Fortin, a commentator at Challenges, the financial weekly, said: “Mr Bouton wanted to destabilise those amongst his potential assailants who were counting on his swift departure to prepare their offensive.

“This is a subliminal message which you can be sure will have been received loud and clear by those to whom it is addressed.”

However, Mr Fortin said that Mr Bouton’s comments could rebound on him. “Daniel Bouton has never been excessively humble and that’s his right – but he shouldn’t give the impression that he’s learnt nothing from the crisis.”

SocGen announced a €3.35 billion quarterly loss last week as a result of the actions of Mr Kerviel, who is under investigation for his role in the scandal. The bank also launched a €5.5 billion rights issue at a 39 per cent discount in an attempt to restore its finances. “You’ll see that this house will quickly rediscover its willingness to serve and to fight,” Mr Bouton said. “We are turning the page.”

Rogue traders' profit boosted SocGen bonuses

Jerome Kerviel's lawyer claims executives at the French bank benefited from the successful investments of the rogue trader

• SocGen rights issue will be at a 39% discount

• SocGen trader remanded in custody after court hearing

Multimedia

• Full coverage of the SocGen scandal

• Blog: Charles Bremner on SocGen

• Video: Patrick Hosking on the impact of fraud

BACKGROUND

• Who Knew What and When?

• SocGen director probed over €100m share sale

• Ex-SocGen risk auditor calls systems a sham

Related Links

• Societe Generale lost €3.3bn in fourth quarter

• Police search Soc Gen's French headquarters

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