By this time, J?r?me Kerviel is running (pun intended) neck and neck with Osama bin Laden as the world?s Most Wanted Man. Unless apprehended, and if he can find his way into Afghanistan and join forces with Al Qaeda, his status will be in that position for a long time. There are similarities in the impact created by Osama and Kerviel?Osama terrorized the world with bombs, while Kerviel terrorized the global financial system with fraud. He now ranks as the top most popular search request on Google, minus all the sex related ones. The bank, Soci?t? G?n?rale stated that J?r?me admitted guilt [hyperlink] and he acted alone; and there was no personal gain for himself. All he did was make fraudulent bets using the banks money that European Stock Markets would rise. Well, they did not. He then covered up the losses with more fraudulent accounts rather than leave the market and cut losses. His supervisors and department managers were given their walking papers. J?r?me was playing the part of a big time spender, investing billions on things he perhaps believed would help his career, his fortunes and the bank?s as well. Like a degenerate gambler who would be at the brink of selling his soul and can?t stop betting. When all hell broke loose, so did J?r?me Kerviel.
He is reviled by colleagues now for bringing the nosy media into their quiet lives, abandoned by his friends who have disappeared from his Facebook list, and dumped by his girlfriend. His univ professors say he was no genius. His office mates say that he was quiet, and worked his way up to become a trader from a nondescript job as a monitor of trades on the floor. Yet, the CEO of the bank says the fraud was extraordinarily sophisticated [hyperlink]. He certainly was a genius at kiting.
Doesn?t this characterization sound like the terrorists of 9/11 as described by those who knew them? Did J?r?me Kerviel intentionally defraud to create economic turbulence worldwide? We will know if and when Osama airs a video message to this effect….
Aside from a public apology, what is the culpability of Soci?t? G?n?rale? The bank?s losses are stated at $7.1 billion, but recent reports indicate that our anti-hero invested around $73.1 billion. How much of that the bank can recoup is not clear, but the losses could run up to $22 billion. For an institution that?s capitalized at $52.6 billion [hyperlink] the potential losses are enough to send the stockholders jumping from the Eiffel Tower.
Haarrrrwwwwk…Twoooooph…Ting!
The spitting vessel
spittingvessel.blogspot.com
