Everyone’s heard of Jérôme Kerviel, the 31-year-old trader whose risk-taking in 2008 could have caused the Société Général bank to collapse – and possibly the entire global financial system along with it… Kerviel was sentenced to 5 years in prison (3 mandatory) and fined 4.9 billion Euros – the heaviest penalty amount ever given to an individual. But what do we really know about Jérôme? Joining the bank at the bottom of the ladder, no one could have guessed he would manage to become a trader 5 years later. The young man from Brittany made his way up the banking ladder by learning quickly. Very quickly. A veritable “cash machine,” he lived up to his nickname, given by his colleagues.
