Here is a view on the Societe General rogue trader debacle from our French correspondent Irene Frat.
Many questions – and a few answers
Why did he do it?
You would think it was for the money that Jérôme Kerviel took highly risky positions at Société Générale. Though he was eager to get a big bonus –he was hoping for 300 000 euros, not a paltry sum for a trader who made less than 100,000 euros a year in fixed salary, he did not siphon the money he could have made on the markets at one point.
Why ? The explanation lies in his personal psychology. Kerviel seems more addicted to the trading game than to making money. Explanations concerning his behavior also can be found in France’s general attitude towards social classes. “I was aware, starting from my first meeting in 2005, that I was less well-considered than the others [regarding] my university degree and my professional and personal background. I had not come directly to the front office, but had passed through the middle office, and I was the only [trader] to have done that,” Kerviel reportedly told investigators.
Coming from a provincial, lower middle class background, Kerviel did manage to get a university degree. But not the “right” one.
