A French bank is the victim of massive fraud

Societe Generale, revealed on January 24th that it has lost 5 billion euros because of a fraud committed by one of its brokers. "The Societe Generale's executive director is well aware, deep down, that what is being presented as fraud is actually highlighting a dangerously fallible risk control system", comments the editorialist Gaétan Capèle. "This unbelievable affair, that we would like to hope is exceptional and isolated, further discredits a profession that is already in the spotlight. Beyond the setbacks faced by the Societe Generale, it carries the seed of a far more pernicious evil, reinforcing the prevalent distrust that, since the beginning of the high-risk subprime crisis has been ruining the reputation of the financial universe. ... The current torment is showing how the machine is gradually escaping the grasp of those in charge of operating it."

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