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French trader who hid $7.1 billion loss gets IT consulting job

Peter Cohan — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:41:00 EST

The New York Times reports that the trader who hid a $7.1 billion loss from Société Générale last year has landed in a nice new job as an Information Technology (IT) consultant. The trader is Jerome Kerviel and his new employer is Lemaire Consultants & Associates, which specializes in computer security and system development. In February the firm's founder, Jean-Raymond Lemaire said of Kerviel, "He is not an I.T. prodigy."

This reminds me of the Steven Spielberg flick Catch Me if You Can which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. Abagnale did some prison time and then went to work for the FBI with the agent who caught him, Carl Hanratty (played in the movie by Tom Hanks).

Granted, the analogy is not perfect. But I will be sure not to recommend Lemaire's firm to any of my clients. Naturally, A lawyer for Société Générale, Jean Veil, said that he was "delighted" that Kerviel had found employment. "It means he will be in a position to start repaying the bank." Sure -- assuming that Lemaire pays Kerviel $1 billion a year -- his debt should be paid off in a mere eight years.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

French trader who hid $7.1 billion loss gets IT consulting job originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Societe Generale rogue trader contests his firing

Zac Bissonnette — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:54:00 EST

Filed under: Law, Scandals

Having been released from jail last month, Societe Generale's former rogue trader Jerome Kerviel is contesting his firing -- which occurred after he lost $7 billion of the firm's money in unauthorized, hidden trades.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that Mr. Kerviel is claiming his firing was unlawful because the trades were in the black before the bank unwound them. His lawyers also claim that French law entitles him to a face to face meeting with his bosses before his firing, something that has been impossible because the terms of his bail forbid him from contact with the bank.

Hey, maybe he actually has a point. In the current environment, losing $7 billion of shareholders' money is all in a day's work. More than twice that amount of shareholder value evaporated under the leadership of James Cayne, Bear Stearns' (NYSE: BSC) chairman and former CEO.

Yeah, I know. The issue is that Mr. Kerviel didn't have the authorization to make reckless speculative bets that he didn't fully understand. But should anyone have that authority?

Just so you know: I'm being facetious. Of course Mr. Kerviel should be fired and it's hilarious that he actually has a right to a hearing to contest this. It's even more amazing that he's contesting his firing. This guy just can't seem to let go of his 15 minutes of infamy.

Societe Generale rogue trader contests his firing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is rogue trader Jerome Kerviel a hero or a villain? Neither?

Zac Bissonnette — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:52:00 EST

Filed under: Scandals

Here's how great the employment system in France is: after losing a company $7.2 billion, rogue trader Jerome Kerviel has not been fired yet.

According (subscription required) to the Wall Street Journal, "Société Générale has stopped paying Mr. Kerviel and told him not to come to the office, but it hasn't managed to formally fire him. French law stipulates that to do that, the bank must first call him in for a sit-down meeting and explain its dissatisfaction. He has the right to bring along a trade-union official, a lawyer or anyone else he'd like."

Meanwhile, he's developed a cult following of people who think he's actually good. For some reason I'm not quite sure if I understand, the French Communist Party has leapt to his defense.

Continue reading Is rogue trader Jerome Kerviel a hero or a villain? Neither?

Is rogue trader Jerome Kerviel a hero or a villain? Neither? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What Jerome Kerviel demonstrated, MIT proves

Zack Miller — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:58:00 EST

Filed under: Major Movement, International Markets, Scandals

Interesting article this week in the MIT Technology Review (OK, so I don't understand most of it, but I still aspire to be a geek) in the wake of the trading losses announced by Société Générale at the hands of rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel.

Last week, the French bank disclosed the $7.2 billion loss. In the wake of the disclosure, Bank of France chairman Christian Noyer declared to a French senate finance committee, "None of the controls within Societe Generale seem to have worked as they should have."

Interviewed in the article, MIT's Andrew Lo, head of the university's Laboratory of Financial Engineering, said that given the fact that all software systems have a human interface, "I would argue that it is impossible to prevent these disasters with 100 percent certainty."

Continue reading What Jerome Kerviel demonstrated, MIT proves

What Jerome Kerviel demonstrated, MIT proves originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did SocGen know about all the risk taking?

Aaron Katsman — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:48:00 EST

Filed under: International Markets, Scandals, Citigroup Inc. (C), Technology, Israel

While investors on the west side of the Atlantic lament the corruption in the U.S. banking system, it could be that the French system takes home the gold medal. Reports out of the Paris prosecutor's office indicate that rogue trader Jerome Kerviel told investigators, "I can't believe that my superiors were not aware of the amounts that I was committing, it is impossible to generate such profits with small positions."

If this is true, and SocGen knew what was happening all along, then former CEOs like Citigroup's (NYSE: C) Chuck Prince and E*Trade's (NASDAQ: ETFC) Mitch Kaplan will look like choir boys in comparison.

One company that has actually gained from all of this, especially on the heels of the SocGen announcement, is the Israeli security company NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE). They recently purchased a company called Actimize which has a anti-fraud product for banks, to help prevent situations like this recent debacle.

What to make of all of this? There will always be banks, and they will always get a little too piggy and screw things up. It's NICE to know that there are some company's out that can try and reign in these guys and save the investor some money.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has a position and is long NICE and ETFC. He has no positions in any other stock mentioned as of 1/29/08.

Did SocGen know about all the risk taking? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel may face criminal charges

Gary Sattler — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:47:00 EST

Filed under: Law, Employees, Scandals, Headline News

Prosecutors investigating the fraudulent trading scandal involving Jérôme Kerviel and his antics at French bank, Société Générale, have determined there is strong evidence that a crime has been committed and are asking for preliminary charges to be filed. The filing of preliminary charges by a judge would clear the way for investigators to dig deeper into the matter to determine if the case shall be dropped or continue on to trial.

Defense attorney Elisabeth Meyer, speaking on behalf of Kerviel stated that he is being "thrown to the lions before being able to explain himself." Defense attorneys believe that Kerviel is being made a scapegoat in the wake of losses tied to the U.S. sub-prime mortgage meltdown. They claim that Kervial was just trying to be an exceptional trader. Too bad he couldn't have accomplished that above board.

The bank's CEO, Daniel Bouton rejects the notion that Kerviel is being used for cover. He called the idea "stupid", declaring that you can't "hide a hole by another hole." I would tend to agree with that thinking. The judge's pending approval of the filing of charges could clear the way to proving that Kerviel did indeed act with fraudulent intent. It is of no consequence whether or not Kerviel sought personal gain through his alleged misdeeds. It is of no help to him if he thought his actions were noble. What matters here is that he seems to have acted independent of the rules and then sought to cover his tracks in doing so.

Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel may face criminal charges originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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