Jerome Kerviel is a cult figure here in France.
Many have painted him as an anti-establishment hero who
managed to make a mockery of the global banking system just as the
financial crisis was starting to unfold in 2008.
After he was arrested, Facebook fan sites were set up and
some women even got T-shirts printed saying 'I am Jerome Kerviel's
girlfriend'.
But for others he has always been viewed as a reckless trader
who refused to take responsibility for his actions. He has written a
book about his experiences and has made occasional television
appearances defending his line.
But any money he has made from his story will barely make a
dent in the 5bn euro debt he has been asked to pay back to Societe
General. As one journalist here put it: "To raise the total, on his
current salary after tax would take 333 thousand years".
The bank has said it will be "realistic" about what it
actually asks for. But it is Jerome Kerviel's prison sentence that will
perhaps send the strongest message to other banks and traders around the
world.
***
The ex-trader lost the bank almost 5bn euros ($6.5bn; £4bn) in 2008, and was convicted in 2010.
Kerviel, who was also convicted of unauthorised computer use, has always said his bosses knew what he was doing.
He will also have to pay back the losses incurred by the bank.
However, Societe Generale has said it will not demand full repayment.
"The appeals court... upholds the ruling," the judge told Kerviel, adding that he would not go to jail immediately.
"Jerome Kerviel was the sole creator, inventor and user of a
fraudulent system that caused these damages to Societe Generale," the
court's written ruling said.
'Lamentable injustice'
The trader's lawyer said his client might consider a second appeal against the original sentence.
"We defended Jerome Kerviel vigorously and I confirm that
despite all the evidence put forward by the defence, it was not enough
to dissuade [the court] against the original verdict," said David
Koubbi.
"Our aim was to defend Mr Kerviel against a lamentable injustice. I admit we have failed.
"We will continue to support Mr Kerviel in his fight and we
will now decide with him if we can take this further with the court of
cassation."
Societe Generale's lawyer said the bank would take into
account Kerviel's income and assets when deciding how much it wanted its
ex-employee to pay back.
Jean Veil said it would be "indecent" if Kerviel kept money
made from his actions at the bank, for example from any book or film
rights.
Despite his claims that his superiors knew all about his
actions, Kerviel's former bosses and colleagues lined up to testify
against him during the trial in 2010. The judge at the time ruled that
the trader "knowingly went beyond his remit".
Kerviel has been banned from trading for life, while Societe
Generale was also fined 4m euros by French regulators for failures in
its risk control systems following the scandal.
Another high-profile case of rogue trading is that of Kweku Adoboli, a former trader with Swiss bank UBS.
He is on trial for false accounting and fraud, which the
prosecution maintains led to £1.4bn of losses at the bank. Mr Adoboli
claims his managers supported his risk-taking.
source
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