Posted by wlansden |
Filed under news and comments
By James Bowden
Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader whose risky bets nearly toppled the French banking giant Société Générale, just received a restitution order that makes your student loans look like a trifle, although I’m willing to bet that the interest rate on the restitution order is more favorable. The Huffington Post does the math on how long Kerviel will be working to pay off the $7 billion order with his current salary, assuming he put every red cent he earns towards the payments (spoiler alert: 177,536 years). In Tuesday’s Obvious Statement of the Day, Société Générale spokeswoman Caroline Guillaumine opined on the likelihood of a full recovery: “the damage award [is] a ‘symbolic’ sum that the bank [does] not expect [will] be paid.” That’s a good bet, especially considering that Kerviel has also been banned from ever working in the financial services industry again. Oh, and he’ll have to work remotely. From Prison. But hey, 33, roguishly good-looking (ha! A pun!), and [in]famous – he might have a shot at it.
My first thought when reading this article was, “Wow, $7 billion in restitution must be some kind of record!” Nope. That honor goes to American swindler and Awful Person Bernie Madoff, who slithers around the federal penitentiary with a $170 billion bill around his neck. And I say good riddance.
Of course, it could always be worse. You could be sued for $38 Quadrillion. And then you could get a headache.
Currently rated 5.0 by 1 people
- Currently 5/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5