Jerome Kerviel, under police interrogation, apparently had much to say about his bosses at Societe Generale - most notably, that despite his obfuscation of unapproved trades, by rights they should have without question known what he was up to. And thus far authorities seem to be taking his account seriously.

There's a pretty good recap of the whole he said/they said right here. And if you're curious about what exactly Kerviel was saying while under the hot lights of Gaullic justice? Here's a collection of the direct quotes you crave (translated from the French, of course), courtesy of The Independent, UK:

• "I can't believe that my superiors were not aware of the kinds of sums that I was committing. It is impossible to generate such profits with small positions."

• "That's what led me to believe that, as long as I was making a profit, my bosses would close their eyes to the methods and amounts I used ... With normal activities, with normal commitments [of cash], no trader could generate so much money."

• "Not seen, not caught. If you are caught, you are hanged."

• "What gave me my profits was the real position and as soon as I let my fictional position fall, my balance would be adjusted accordingly..."

• "As long as we earned money and things weren't too obvious, as long as things could be arranged, nothing was said."

Ass-covering? No doubt. Untrue? Mmmm... Harder to say. Kerviel also told authorities that his illicit trades started much earlier than had been previously indicated. He claims to have begun hiding his market moves as far back as 2005, with cumulative profits of more than $2 billion. Kerviel even stated that some of his loss taking positions were intentional - designed to distract from his towering market genius.

Apparently all this fuss has made Kerviel a bit of a folk hero in some corners of France. Many have glommed on to the notion that Kerviel is merely a scapgoat for bank mismanagement. He's been called the James Bond of SocGen or even the Che Guevara of Finance. There are t-shirts, and Facebook social groups. He's become a management critique. He's even had a tabloid moment - HIS BROTHER WAS A ROGUE TRADER TOO! Seriously...meet Oliver Kerviel.

Yep. Jerome Kerviel has gone viral, thoroughly crossing over from the business pages and into brand name category. At least for another 14 and a half minutes...

-- MDT

Labels: Jerome Kerveil, Jerome Kerviel, Oliver Kerviel, Societe Generale