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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Societe board begins crisis talks | Societe board begins crisis talks |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Societe Generale's management has begun talks which are set to decide the fate of the bank's head, Daniel Bouton. | Societe Generale's management has begun talks which are set to decide the fate of the bank's head, Daniel Bouton. |
| Mr Bouton is under growing pressure to take responsibility for one of the biggest trading scandals in history. | Mr Bouton is under growing pressure to take responsibility for one of the biggest trading scandals in history. |
| The bank has blamed junior trader Jerome Kerviel for making trades that led to a 4.9bn-euro ($7bn; £3.7bn) loss at the bank. | The bank has blamed junior trader Jerome Kerviel for making trades that led to a 4.9bn-euro ($7bn; £3.7bn) loss at the bank. |
| But Mr Kerviel has reportedly said top bosses knew of his risk taking and turned a blind eye. | But Mr Kerviel has reportedly said top bosses knew of his risk taking and turned a blind eye. |
| The scandal has compounded losses linked to US sub-prime debt at Societe General and scarred the bank's image, leaving it vulnerable to a takeover approach. | The scandal has compounded losses linked to US sub-prime debt at Societe General and scarred the bank's image, leaving it vulnerable to a takeover approach. |
| SOCIETE GENERALE IN FIGURES Founded in 1864467bn euros in assets under management (as of June 2007)22.5 million customers worldwide120,000 employees in 77 countries class="" href="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/fds/hi/business/market_data/shares/1/15135/default.stm">Societe Generale share price | |
| However, on Tuesday, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that the government would defend the bank against hostile bids. | |
| Pressure on the bank has been exacerbated by a group representing employee shareholders taking legal action Societe Generale over its handling of the trading scandal. | Pressure on the bank has been exacerbated by a group representing employee shareholders taking legal action Societe Generale over its handling of the trading scandal. |
| Under pressure | |
| Mr Kerviel, 31, is being investigated for breach of trust, falsifying documents and breaching computer security - but not the more serious charge of fraud. | |
| Societe Generale says Mr Kerviel had an unauthorised position, or a bet, worth about 50bn euros on the future direction of European shares. | |
| To avoid that potentially catastrophic loss, the bank had to unwind Mr Kerviel's trades, but that still cost it 4.9bn euros. | |
| Societe Generale said Mr Kerviel's experience in administrating trades enabled him to bypass strict risk controls. It said he invented deals that, on paper, balanced out his bets. | |
| But in testimony published in the French daily Le Monde, Mr Kerviel said he "did not believe" the bank's senior management would not have been aware of the risky bets he was taking, which dated back to 2005. | |
| "It's impossible to generate such large profits with small positions, which leads me to say that when I'm in the black, my superiors close their eyes about the methods and volumes committed," he was reported as saying. |