SocGen … Rogue trader? … a different view
After reading a lot of stuff about the case, the story looks even more incredible today.
Risk Magazine named SocGen in its JANUARY issue “Equity Derivatives House of the Year”. Farther from reality they could not have been 
French press is speculating, that Jérôme Kerviel is only used as a public scapegoat to cover up the real reasons for the monster loss at the bank. It is said, it could be a big computer glitch, some even say, they just made a market bet to hide their subprime losses as they mentioned earlier in 2007, that they are NOT facing them.
The so far known facts:
1. The exposure must have been around 500k FESX futures (value)
2. SocGen’s new head of trading said, they sold 3 days long and never more than 8% of the volume. (another stupid computer-born strategy?)
3. SocGen was rumoured to face BIG problems, starting Friday, selling off 8% in the afternoon.
4. As they did not react to the rumors, they created the bad mood in the market AND started SELLING … STUPID!!!
5. They informed the french banking supervisor and got the exception, not to go public with it before the positions would be closed … I bet, they talked to their mates!!!
6. They started selling on an US holiday, a usually low volume day … and even as Asian markets moved down, Europe started the panic … STUPID again.
7. They did not inform the FED or tried to unwind the position slowly, which would not have created this kind of loss … Bad trading …
8. The bank says, the position was cancelled out by MADE UP forward trades (where have been the guys, checking the counterparty risk???) and only became aware of it as Jérôme Kerviel put in a SUNDAY as settlement date. THIS was the only reason, which made them aware (STUPIDITY RULES)
All in all a SAD STORY for SocGen, for the french market as a whole and an example, HOW NOT to handle a crisis 
By the way … What is the real difference between this FRAUD and the fraud, many banks committed with their subprime OVERexposure???
If they let their CEO’s go away with huge pay packages, what about a nice bonus for Jérôme Kerviel??? 
At least he tried to do something big for his country!
Januar 25th, 2008 at 21:20
What do you want? They are not only Equity Derivatives House of the year but of the century. The first bank hit by y 5 bill fraud. That´s an alltime high
With regards to all that Soc Gen did it blubbering: Russel was down > 20% Friday 19th from TOP Summer ´07. MDAX was down. NIKKEI was down since March 2007. So the rest had to follow. The other markets were due and they followed up - as the banker´s herd always does.