French Rogue Trader Damages Slashed to 1 Million Euros

Former French rogue trader Jerome Kerviel will not have to pay 4.9 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in damages to the bank that used to employ him, but a more manageable 1 million euros ($1.1 million), a court ruled Friday. The court said Kerviel was “partly responsible” for huge losses suffered in 2008 by Societe Generale through his reckless financial trades. But it also ruled that the bank’s “deficiencies” in its management, controls and security systems contributed to the losses, which Kerviel would have had no realistic way of reimbursing. “I’m hoping to get to zero (civil damages) in the end because I still think I do not owe anything to Societe Generale. The battle continues,” Kerviel told reporters following the ruling. Societe Generale’s lawyer Jean Veil said the bank has not decided yet whether to appeal. He said that the court’s decision means the damages are now realistic and “enforceable.”