Nine years after Kerviel, what has become of the "irradiated" of Société Générale?

Short and black hair, closed face, marathoner's physics, at first glance, Jean-Pierre Mustier has not changed.Now installed in London, he works in a small glass tower of the City in a relative anonymity that suits him.Man has never sought light.However, he's a finance star.In 2008, when he led the all-powerful market bank of Société Générale, under 50, he was even considered the most promising banker of his generation.And for good reason.With a handful of other genius matheux, he had made the Société Général's Cash Machine with a lot of equations, Actions derivatives.These financial products in which each invested euro reported fifty cents per year at the time!The road to the top of this x-mines deemed hard and demanding seemed all traced.One day or another was sure, he would become the boss of Société Générale.But Jérôme Kerviel and the 4.9 billion euros that the fraudulent bets of the trader caused the Defense Bank to be lost by there.And Wonder Boy's meteor career has been stopped net."After that, it was no longer possible to stay in charge.I immediately decided to resign and I was held.A leader cannot discard his teams, he must be exemplary, "says Jean-Pierre Mustier, without an ounce of regret, in his office of the London headquarters of Tikehau, the debt fund of which he had become partnerLast year, before taking the head of Unicredit.

He then made another decision, even more unusual in the world of finance: he renounces any remuneration, including bonuses, "for the sake of exemplarity, given the damage caused by the financial crisis".Jean-Pierre Musier does not make a vow of poverty.His pioneering years of "derivatives" in the middle of the golden age of finance have sheltered him from need."But I know many bankers who, in my situation, would have asked for big remuneration," he defends himself.The message will also find it difficult to convey to Unicredit, of which it becomes number 2 in 2011.He will not derogate from it.A response to the accusations of the initiate of which he was the subject in 2008 and which will end up being lifted?More surely, a way of exploring a lack of control, of which the employees of the bank and its shareholders paid most of the invoice, as it never fails to remember.In any case, man is today less steep, warm, almost affable."Eight years ago, I could be arrogant and brutal," he admits.This test made me stronger as a man and as a manager.But the level of requirement remained the same.Having become an active philanthrope, he passed an MBA of social entrepreneurship by correspondence to Wharton to deepen the question.We don't do it again!

A drama in three acts

Like Jean-Pierre Mustier, all the leaders of the group were marked in the red iron by this extraordinary claim.If the Kerviel bomb did not blow up the general, its influence has irradiated all its direction.The omnipotent Daniel Bouton, who has run the bank since 1997, left its job there and a little of its health.Its number 2, the very popular Philippe Center, has acquired a pariah status still topical.The market bank was beheaded.Hugues

The Bret, the Dircom of the time, wrote a book on the case, as we do a therapy, which earned him losing his job, before creating the "without bank" accounts.Finally, Frédéric Oudéa, financial director in 2008 who became boss, is the only one to have won something.But he would probably have preferred to access the supreme function in other circumstances.Since this weekend in January 2008, the years have passed, Jérôme Kerviel has been found guilty by justice twice and the bank has experienced other storms.But for these few men who then occupied the top floors of the tower hunt in La Défense, the memory of this test remains intact.A drama in three acts for which nothing had prepared them.

The first act begins with a thunderclap."Until the Kerviel accident, Société Générale, is a sublime course.A bank so profitable in mid-2007 that she could afford to consider an equal merger with BNP Paribas which was once and a half larger than it, "recalls Michel Cicurel, administrator of the bank.But in a weekend, the dream breaks and the return to earth is brutal.He takes the form of an SMS sent on Sunday January 21 in the morning at 9:45 a.m. on the laptop of the boss of actions derivatives, while he questions Jérôme Kerviel.His teams inform him that the bank is "long" of 50 billion euros...The shock is terrible.Once the position is unlocked, the loss of trading will reach the colossal sum of 6.3 billion euros (attenuated by a gain of 1.4 billion carried out in 2007 in equally fraudulent conditions by the trader).A record!Suddenly, the bank discovers itself vulnerable to the actions of an average employee operating on one of its most basic market trades.

"The European Goldman Sachs victim of the tiles washing...»»»», Quips a former bank council.The amazement is total, the humiliation too.But house solidarity plays full.More for very long, we will see it.For four days, until the press conference announcing the disaster on Thursday 24, the body of body which has already preserved the independence of Société Générale in the past (Boursier Raid in 1988, Banking of 1999) is doing wonders.Daniel Bouton is maneuver."In the first days of the crisis, he was fantastic," recalls an ex-leader.The CEO, who offered his resignation to the board of directors, decides to unlock the position of 50 billion as quickly as possible, launches the capital increase process which will lead to the lifting of 5.5 billion euros and assignedA mission to each member of the Executive Committee.As of Sunday, he also warned the governor of the Banque de France Christian Noyer."The Governor's courage and lucidity will be extraordinary throughout the crisis," said Philippe Center today.The bases of the rescue are laid.

Media tornado

However, as soon as the case is made public, things are spoiling.This is the second act, that of the media tornado.The leaders thought they had done the essential by doing everything to ensure the survival of their establishment, they discover that the hardest.Because the gap is immense between their perception and that of an amazed public opinion.It must be said that in this story, everything is extraordinary: the amounts at stake, the scenario of fraud, its framework, the personality of Kerviel, the potential consequences for the country..."For the first time, a subject relating to a company made the front page of the 20 hours for five days in a row," said a communicator.The chronicle of these storm days was made on several occasions.

Even today, misunderstanding persists among the elders of Société Générale. « On avait sauvé la banque et évité une crise majeure au pays et on ne nous en a donné aucun crédit »»»», se rappelleHugues Le Bret.On the contrary, it is even a momentum of sympathy which is created for the "poor" trader, who will never publicly assume the facts which are accused of."When I think Jérôme Kerviel was applauded on a television set the day after his conviction on appeal to three years in prison, I wonder and tell myself that our country does not turn round sometimes.This inversion of values is shocking, "says Séverin Cabannes, the current deputy managing director of the bank.Even today, despite two convictions on the merits, disbelief persists in some, skillfully maintained by the Kerviel clan, which continues to distill "new" elements regularly."Business bankers continue to argue me that the bank could not not know", laments Jean Veil, the lawyer of the bank, while "in general, these professionals ignore everything from the trading activity»»»»»»»».

Internal weaknesses and rivalries

With hindsight, some "ex" of 2008 recognize it, the media battle was lost in advance."Société Générale could not win.An institution cannot convince against an individual who does not hesitate to arrange with the truth, "continues Jean Veil.And then, opinion was waiting for the bank a mea culpa which will never come.The reason for this silence is Philippe City who gives it today: "We had made a nuclear power plant that worked wonderfully.But a fried barrack had been set up in the parking lot.And the gas cylinder of this barrack exploded...The damage was significant, but the power station continued to turn without problem.Clearly, Jérôme Kerviel, it's a fun fair accident, not Fukushima!There is therefore no question of restraining the bank's engine.Seen from the defense, the primacy of actions derivatives, on the outskirts of which the trader worked, had to be reaffirmed and his most emblematic leader, Christophe Mianné, maintained.

Having become a boss of market activities a few months earlier, the one who then maintains a regular relationship with the CEO will be the only survivor of the hierarchical line of Jérôme Kerviel."I assumed my responsibilities as CEO by putting my resignation, but I do not believe I had specific personal responsibility, explains the Daniel Bouton of 2016.The enormity of the Kerviel loss results from the conjugation of an exceptional concealer, a defaulting control system and highly decreased markets.In the interest of the bank and its shareholders, it was necessary to think of the future, to succeed in the capital increase and to strengthen the procedures and the means of the back office.This is what has been done.»»»»Close the ban!

The third act of the intimate drama experienced by 2008 leaders is the least known.It will take place in the camera at the top of the tower hits. Un épisode douloureux, sur lequelHugues Le Bret a levé le voile dans son livre La semaineoù Jérôme Kerviel a failli faire sauter le système financier mondial (Les Arènes).The violence of the shock is such that it quickly explodes the weaknesses and rivalries of the management team.The weaknesses, first."Our plan was the right one.What was not planned is that I crack, "admits Daniel button today with franchise.From the first weekend, the CEO, who presses that the crisis will last, however decides to take sleeping pills to protect his sleep.But the blows rain everywhere on the one who quickly becomes the archetype of the banker that we like to hate."At the height of its power, Daniel Bouton was often brittle.He tended to give the lesson to everyone, including cac bosses.The day the accident occurred, many people took revenge, "analyzes a former leader.From the Elysée, Nicolas Sarkozy claims to Cor and Cri the head of the resigning boss.The two men have never been very close, but above all the first does not forgive the second for having informed him of the disaster until the late Wednesday afternoon, once sold the position of 50 billion.

This showdown will only end with the final departure of Daniel Bouton de la Générale, in April 2009."I have warned the supervisory authorities without delay, but not political power," explains the ex-CEO today.It is not linked to the personality of this or that, but I believe that people do not understand that politicians cannot reason in linearly on a problem.Their duty is to cross data of different nature.Preventing power earlier was running a big risk.Nevertheless, the pressure on the CEO is quickly too strong, the field of possibilities too large and the feeling of loneliness too big."Within the staff, some were great, others as paralyzed, unable to make a decision," said Daniel Bout.For the first time in his life, the inflexible boss of the general, the youngest finance inspector in history, puts a knee on the ground.In February, he is no longer able to ensure the road shows necessary to "sell" the capital increase to investors.He must be repatriated to Paris and have hospitalized time to regain foot.The secret of this failure will be jealously kept to avoid weakening the bank a little more.He was then replaced at the foot raised by Jean-Pierre Musier, resigning, and Frédéric Oudéa, dad since Thursday, January 24!During this key period, the future of the bank will therefore be based on the two quadras from the same Polytechnique promo.With success.

The general direction?A field of ruins

For his part, Philippe Center is absorbed by the conduct of daily affairs and the relationship with the advice.He literally gets drunk with work.It is that the crisis has rekindled an injury not yet healed, a strategic dispute between the CEO and his assistant, which dates from spring 2007.In full financial euphoria, the general is in a position of force to get out of the splendid isolation in which she has lived since the failure of the merger with Paribas in 1999."We could finally put an end to the" stand alone ", this residual strategy," says an ex-administrator.But at the top of the bank, everyone pushes their solution.Philippe City and others campaign for a rapprochement with unicredit.Discussions are committed and are not far from achieving."But the bank brings up its requirements to an unacceptable level for the Italians," deplores a former leader.For his part, the CEO, who has never really digested the 1999 defeat, is seriously planning to launch an OPA on BNP Paribas."The board of directors played with this idea in 2007, recognizes one of its members of the time.Daniel said he was ready to go, but explained to us that his only problem was his number 2.»»»»

Finally, the project is expanding.An article well informed of Les Echos reports, ruining any surprise effect."At that time, Daniel Bouton hesitated to separate from Philippe Center. Il m’a confié plus tard qu’il estimait avoir commis une erreur en ne passant pas à l’acte »»»», rapporte un proche de l’ex-PDG.When the Kerviel affair occurs, divorce is not far from being consumed between the two men, so dissimilar, whose association has nevertheless made the heyday of the bank for ten years.He will be during these dark days, when Philippe Center is suspected of taking a language with BNP Paribas, while the behavior of the bank on rue d'Antin is deemed ambiguous."All bank leaders called me to offer me their help. Je n’avais aucune raison de ne pas leur parler »»»», remarque aujourd’hui l’intéressé qui réfute toute idée de trahison, lui qui aura passé trente ans à la Générale."It had been fifteen years since I had cordial relationships with all the place.»»Time has passed and some internally, like Jean-Pierre Mustier, believe that the judgments made at that time on Philippe Center have been unfair.According to his relatives, Daniel Bouton is not part of it."He always considered that if things had been wrong, the back of BNP Paribas was obviously one of the best solutions," said one of them.But sending signals during fundraising was a mistake.»»»»

In the end, no plan B will be necessary.Capital increase is a success and customers maintain their trust in the bank.Société Générale is saved, but the 35th floor of the Chassagne tower, that of the general management, is a field of ruins.With hindsight, several alumni believe that the ex-CEO should have left the bank at that time, the duty accomplished, especially since it was not yet restored.A controversy over his stock options will be formed there a year later - fifteen days after Philippe Center - but he will have left the group's operational reins in May 2008 at Frédéric Oudéa.It is up to him that the burden will return to the bank on the rails, by printing his more relaxed, less rough style.This is today done.What he does not know then is that other tests await him, even harder: the financial crisis, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and especially the liquidity crisis in the summer of 2011, the moment when,In the general opinion, the bank passes closest to the abyss."In this crisis, Frédéric Oudéa appeared as a captain standing in the storm, judge Michel Cicurel.Since then, no one would imagine to challenge their leadership.»»»»Actions derivatives, they still weigh as heavy within the general.But they are now almost exclusively turned to customers, when a third of their activity was on behalf of the bank at the time.

The epilogue of this story took place just over a year ago.On December 9, 2015, in the historic heart of the group, the Central Agency of Boulevard Haussmann in Paris.It is in this jewel of Art Nouveau that Daniel Bouton gave Frédéric Oudéa the insignia of knight of the Legion of Honor.The opportunity for the two men to symbolically carrying out the award of witness that the circumstances had refused them in 2008.In a funny and moving speech, according to witnesses, the elder will dubbed his youngest by reading their many common points: the loss of a father at the end of childhood;finance inspection;And the beginnings at the head of Société Générale marked by opposite winds (Banking Battle for one, financial crisis for the other).A filiation that Frédéric Oudéa endorsed that evening of good, even responding to Daniel Bouton that he owed everything to her...Until his wife, since it was at the request of his CEO that he received the young auditor from the Court of Auditors who was going to become his wife.Jean-Pierre Musier was among the hundred guests that evening.Philippe City was not there.Jérôme Kerviel was probably in all heads.

The Traders club that has lost control

Kweku Adoboli at UBS: son of a Ghanaian diplomat, he made a thunderous career on the London Floor Trading of the Swiss Bank.But he quickly invents fictitious counterparts to hide his losses.Its system was revealed in 2011 and ultimately loses $ 2.3 billion in UBS, whose boss, Oswald Grübel, jumps.Kweku Adoboli was sentenced in 2012 to seven years in prison, including three and a half suspended.He found freedom last year.John Rusnak at Allied Irish Banks: Baltimore based in the Allfirst subsidiary of the Irish banking group, he works on the currency markets and takes a lot of risky positions on the yen.He often loses but his disappointments are only discovered in 2002.The losses for AIB rise to 697 million pounds. La banque vend Allfirst à M & T Bank en 2003.John Rusnak is sentenced to seven and a half in prison. Il en sort en 2009 et milite depuis pour donner «une seconde chance »»»» aux anciens détenus.Yasuo Hamanaka at Sumitomo: Japanese is a specialist in copper trading-he has a moment controlled alone, it is estimated, up to 5% of the world metal market.He managed to hide his fraudulent operations for more than ten years, before his practices were fanned in 1996.Total cost for Sumitomo Corporation: $ 2.6 billion.Yasuo Hamanaka was sentenced in 1998 to eight years' imprisonment, he was released in July 2005.Nick Leeson chez Barings : Installé à Singapour, très actif sur les dérivés et les «futures »»»», le Britannique parvient lui aussi un moment à cacher ses paumes.But his screen, based on the Japanese market, collapsed when the Kobé earthquake in 1995 makes the Nikkei index unscrew.He fled to Malaysia, Thailand, then Germany.Caught up, he was sentenced to six years in prison in December 1995.He was released in 1999.His total loss of 827 million pounds takes Barings, sold to Dutchman ING for...a book.