French bank Société Générale has advised clients to be ready for a possible "global economic collapse" over the next two years, The Telegraph reports.

In a 68-page report titled "Worst-Case Debt Scenario," SocGen explains that the rescue packages over the past year have merely transferred private liabilities onto government shoulders, creating a fresh set of problems. Debt levels, public or private, are too high as a share of GDP. The deleveraging process will take years.

Continue reading SocGen's proposed portfolio for a global economic collapse

SocGen's proposed portfolio for a global economic collapse originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The world's most famous rogue trader is about to have his encounter with the criminal justice system. Jerome Kerviel, made famous by transactions he made while a trader at Societe Generale, will go to trial.

He's been charged with forgery, breach of trust and unauthorized computer use. If the French legal system finds him guilty, he could spend up to five years in prison and face a fine of up to €375,000.

Kerviel allegedly made unauthorized trades that cost SocGen more than €5 billion. The losses -- and underlying activity -- came to light in January 2008 as one of the largest trading losses ever to be sustained.

Continue reading 'Rogue trader' Kerviel to stand trial in 2010

'Rogue trader' Kerviel to stand trial in 2010 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Playing the bounce

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Playing the bounce originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The growth of the ultra-rich is not just something happening in the U.S. It's a global megatrend, especially in light of the commodities boom in developing nations.

The trend is a big opportunity for wealth managers, such as Rockefeller Financial Services (RFS). In fact, according to a piece in Reuters, the firm has struck an alliance with Societe Generale (SocGen). To this end, SocGen has purchased a 37% stake in RFS (the dollar amount was not disclosed).

SocGen, which has a wealth management division, is no slouch in helping the ultra-rich. But with the strong growth rates and premium fees, why not expand the platform?

As for RFS, it has roughly $29 billion in assets. Oh, and to qualify as an ultra-rich person (and become a client of RFS), you'll need to show that you're worth at least $30 million. There are about 40,000 of them in the US.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

SocGen and Rockefeller team up for the ultra-rich originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

French bank Société Générale says that it has uncovered a "fraud" by a single trader which lost the bank $7.1 billion. According to MarketWatch, the fraudulent trades were made in 2007 and 2008. The trader, whose role at the bank was to make "plain vanilla" hedges on European stock-market indexes, used his knowledge of the bank's control procedures "to conceal these positions through a scheme of elaborate fictitious transactions."

Société Générale plans to raise €5.5 billion to help offset the loss.

The French bank did not disclose much about how the loss happened or what the trader's motivation might have been. Perhaps that does not matter. What does matter is the the actions get to the heart of risk management at big banks. At a number of U.S. financial companies, traders clearly took huge positions in subprime instruments. That has cost some of the largest banks in this country billions in write-offs. No one has offered an adequate explanation of who was minding the store when those risky decisions were made.

The Société Générale news is just more of the same. Managements at big banks have not learned the lesson.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Societe Generale's $7.1 billion fraud: Will managements ever learn? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.