Judge rules that rogue trader Jerome Kerviel, who lost US$5.6bn, deserves a bonus and compensation of US$517,000

Jerome Kerviel, who was convicted of causing a record US$5.6 billion trading loss at Societe Generale SA, won more than half a million dollars in compensation as a Paris judge berated the lender for its role in the affair.

The 455,500 euro (US$517,000) award Tuesday includes 100,000 euros for unfair dismissal and his 300,000-euro bonus for 2007. Judge Hugues Cambournac questioned some of the bank’s defences since the scandal first emerged nearly a decade ago.

“Societe Generale can’t pretend it was not aware of Jerome Kerviel’s fake operations” before January 2008, Cambournac said. The dismissal “didn’t sanction Kerviel’s acts, but its consequences.”

The employment tribunal verdict is the latest twist in the story of the former trader who has taken equal turns as villain and folk hero since he was blamed for causing the record loss at France’s second-largest lender. The ruling could have an effect on other pending cases including a trial over damages set to begin in the Paris suburb of Versailles next week.

While Cambournac rejected points made in the bank’s favour in previous rulings, he threw out Kerviel’s multi-billion euro compensation request for more than the net loss incurred by the bank.

Immediate Appeal