Kerviel: SocGen was complacent on trades
Jerome Kerviel, the Societe Generale trader whose unauthorized bets led to the biggest trading loss in history, told prosecutors the bank cast a "complacent look" on his practices.
"As long as we were winning and it wasn't too visible, things worked out, no one said anything," Kerviel told police in a transcript cited by Le Monde, which was confirmed by the prosecutors' office. "I am convinced my managers turned a blind eye to the means and amounts in question."
Kerviel amassed 50 billion euros in positions in European stock index futures, whose unwinding resulted in a 4.9 billion-euro loss at France's second-largest bank. Kerviel was charged on Jan 28 with breach of trust, falsifying documents and hacking into computer systems. He was released from custody after turning in his passport, and was ordered not to leave France, associate with the bank or engage in trading.
Agencies
(China Daily 01/31/2008 page16)
