Rogue Traders of the World, Unite!
Will no one protect French workers from their rapacious capitalist overlords? Consider the now notorious case of banker Jerome Kerviel, thrown into the cold for losing a mere $7 billion.
Jérôme Kerviel is challenging Société Générale for failing to respect French labour law when the bank fired him over an alleged €4.9bn ($7bn) rogue trading scandal.
However, a spokesman for Mr Kerviel on Thursday dismissed reports that he was suing the French bank for unfair dismissal. He said the former equity derivatives trader was "only standing up for his rights".
Mr Kerviel received a letter confirming his formal dismissal from SocGen while he was in jail earlier this year. His lawyer wrote back in early February challenging the bank for not respecting labour laws.
One aspect of his challenge is the claim that SocGen failed to comply with the French legal requirement for employers to hold face-to-face meetings with any staff they fire to explain the reasons for the move.
Kerviel's spokesperson says the former trader doesn't actually want his job back. He just wants to know the reason for his dismissal.
Via Free Exchange.
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Mr Kerviel should count his lucky stars. If he pulled that shit in any self-respecting capitalist nation, the bank would have shot him in the head.
He just wants to know the reason for his dismissal.
This guy has a great new career in satire and deadpan comedy if he wants it.
Obviously, Soci?t? G?n?rale owes him his commissions for all those trades.
/snark.
Episarch,
What? Are you retiring?
What is the French word for 'chutzpah'?
How does a man find pants that fit when his balls are bigger than watermelons?
What is the French word for 'chutzpah'?
From now on it will be "Kerviel".
How does a man find pants that fit when his balls are bigger than watermelons?
Simple, the bank absolutely knew what he was doing and didn't care as long as he was making cash. He knows this is going to try to screw them for setting him up as the fall guy.
He lost $7bil on $90bil in positions. Is there anyone who seriously thinks that any investment bank would let $90bil in positions go unnoticed?
Disclosure - I'm at SocGen NY in market data IT.
I first read that as "Rough Traders..."
Who does he think he is wanting his job back and absolution for his sins, a US Politician or something.
See if he had the foresight to get American citizenship and become a Federal Employee he would have received a promotion and raise for his back handed efforts.
He should have consulted with Dollar Bill about how to stay in your job while being obviously guilty as hell.
Why don't they just go on visiting day and tell him he's shitcanned for absenteeism.
Face-to-face meeting requirement met, with a universally acceptable reason for dismissal.
Wow. I swear, when I made the watermelon-ball comment I had no IDEA Fark made pretty much the same comment to post the story. No surprise, though, considering how spectacularly obvious the oversized ballage in question actually is.
Episarch,
What? Are you retiring?
Never! There's always room for more minions for me.
See that, France? THAT is why we have former and future presidential candidates who spend entire speeches mocking you. Because you soooo deserve it.
What is the French word for 'chutzpah'?
Words are used in real languages, by humans. The term 'french' does not apply.
La chutzpah?
// rimshot
I wonder what the "Progressives" who post here think about this blatant violation of employee rights.
If only France weren't so anti-union...
What is the French word for watermelon sized balls?
The term 'french' does not apply
But it comes in handy when describing a certain kind of fried potato.
And salad dressing.
And surrender monkey.
No surprise, though, considering how spectacularly obvious the oversized ballage in question actually is.
Hi, Jennifer, nice to meet you.
What is the French word for watermelon sized balls?
Balles allemandes?
*ducks*
Did the French Labour board (or whatever it is) go along with the guy?
Or is this another 54 million lawsuit of a pair of pants type of thing?
The incredibly ballsy move though, does raise the point, as has been noted above, that would SocGen have been so quick to thrw him to the (other) wolves if his "rogue" acts had been successful?
What is the French word for watermelon sized balls?
Les balles plus grande par mellones de l'eau?
If only he had been a CEO he would have received a huge severance package and generous pension for his efforts.
Gary Forsee got $40 million and a million per year for life - he pushed though a merger that resulted in a 30 BILLION dollar write-off at Sprint.
I'd say they got rid of Forsee cheap.
In the capitalism-hating world of the loony uber-left, surely this guy should have been taken out a-la Michael Clayton, right? WTF happened?
And to think Bugsy Siegel got whacked for a couple million in construction costs over runs. Those capitalists.... tsk, tsk.
Bugsy's investors were in a class of their own. Joe Jett did fine after blowing up Kidder, sued for his bonus as well. Leeson caught a couple years after taking down Barings, gets paid $2500 per speech. Addressing the Capelza's question, there is no such thing as a successful "rogue", if the P&L is positive he is a genius.
Everyone thinks this guy is so incompetent because he lost US$ 7 Billion. He actually lost 4.9 Billion Euros. Had he lost the same amount before Bush took over, it would just have been US$ 4 billion.
Frankly, what I find most amazing is that Monsieur Kerviel pulled down a whopping 1500 Euro bonus last year. I think Soc Gen's janitors got a bigger one...
ed,
I stull use the term "french dip" for my second favorite sloppy beef sammich 🙂
Everyone thinks this guy is so incompetent because he lost US$ 7 Billion. He actually lost 4.9 Billion Euros. Had he lost the same amount before Bush took over, it would just have been US$ 4 billion.
Bush had a job in 'france' while he was POTUS? I must be getting my news from the wrong sources.