woo hoo! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120115814649013033.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news
Yep…I woke up to it on CNBC and just heard that he started in the back office!! See what the back office will make you do? That s**t is traumatizing! It also said he earned less than 100,000 euros.
In my books the guy is a genious, he knew the systems and the risk management policy of one of the largest banks in the world so well that they couldn’t detect it for so long. They should have paid him more than 100K Euros
Banks should hire this guy to back test their risk management systems, just as computer companies hire hackers to find security holes in their operating systems.
All the back- and middle-office folks out there trying to make it to a FO trading position had better think again! The best laid plans can’t overcome the stupidity and audacity of even just one man.
I’m not ussually a conspiracy theorist, but I’m not 100% sure this was a 1-man job, so I’m gonna hold off on giving him too much credit right now…
I believe it is so…but how can it be a one person job. Are you telling me he’s doing all the back office work as well? Someone was being incompetent.
He’s taking the blame for all of them…they’ll probably give him some payout under the table to take the blame…
ahh good ol’ Soc Gen - a disaster waiting to happen. French banking system is a bit like french autos or airline industry - quaint, over-protected, sheltered workshop, funny to look at but you wouldn’t ever actually buy/own one) Perfect Career path: Pick a bank with zero controls and zero brains -> BO -> FO -> KABOOM!!! -> do time -> get book/movie deals -> then go back and consult to the banks about BO/FO risk manangement! Remember Nick Leeson - same story - same career path - now he’s out of jail and consulting to banks on BO/FO controls! Don’t need a CFA for that!!
Finally, proof that the French are who we thought they were…haaawww haaawww haaawww.
I thought Leeson was on the motivational speaker circuit, due to the fact he was hit by stomach cancer while incarcerated, beat the cancer and sort of pulled his life together after he got out of the big house. I was not aware of him consulting on middle office procedures. It is still not clear to me how the SocGen guy ran up a 7bil tab unnoticed trading equity futures. Apparently, he was massively in the money up until the end of December and started bleeding only in the past two weeks. Wouldn’t the futures be marked to market daily, though? Where did he hide those massive gains? I guess he did learn a thing or two during his years in the bo/mo.
not sure which is more dangerous for an ex-con rogue trader - motivational speaking or risk management consulting ??? I guess it provides great motivation - proof that there is life beyond the BO - only don’t get caught… From the sketchy details released so far, it looks like most of the big hits came when they offloaded into the market while they were keeping a lid on the story internally over the past couple of weeks - not from the original positions. I guess I’ll wait for the books/movies to hit the streets - not long usually…
ahahah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’m not ussually a conspiracy theorist, but I’m > not 100% sure this was a 1-man job, so I’m gonna > hold off on giving him too much credit right > now… It seems like there is some big bath accounting in play here.
the guy is a crook. I don’t care how much money you have or what title you hold. In the end, the test is whether you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I did my best”. i respect gangsters more then a rogue trader, at least their business objectives are clearly laid out.
Well, if this happened due to SG low-balling a guy on bonuses and salary, as a revenge of sorts (which is likely), then they should have thought better beforehand.
I heard that this guy didn’t do it for money. Was he paid a set salary? I heard he worked in Back office before becoming a trader. I guess revenge could be a movtive here.
I met a trader at BNP in Paris who was similarly dissatisfied with his more or less fixed compensation. Variable comp doesn’t really fit in well with the French way of looking at things. It doesn’t surprise me at all that this happened in a French bank.
just because someone doesn’t pay you enough doesn’t mean you should sabotage their system like that. I hate where I’m working at right now, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to hurt them for it. After all, nobody is forcing you to do the job. You should be grateful that you’re even employed.
FrankArabia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > the guy is a crook. I don’t care how much money > you have or what title you hold. In the end, the > test is whether you can look at yourself in the > mirror and say, “I did my best”. … I’m afraid the test “I did my best” isn’t good enough. You may think you’re doing your best and doing the right thing but you may have made an error of judgement. And for those of you who can enjoy this quote from www.journaldunet.com: “Par ailleurs, comment ne pas réagir à la publication de la photo du trader en cause ? Si on commence à publier la photo de tous les incompétents, toutes les forêts du monde ne suffiront pas à fournir le papier nécessaire.” (Why not comment on the publication of the photo of the trader in question. If you start to publish the photo of all the incompetent people, all the forests in the world will not suffice to produce the paper necessary."
as the old saying goes-commit a crime, but dont get caught:)) 100 ways to commit a crime; 101 way to get caught he would have been a genius if he didnt get caught…