HEATHER SMITH
PARIS:JEROME KERVIEL, the man blamed by Société Générale SA for the biggest trading loss in banking history, is now a comic-book hero.
Thomas Editions has released Le Journal de Jerome Kerviel, a fictional memoir.
The comic book is evidence of how France is still enthralled by the scandal that hit the lender earlier this year, when it lost €4.9 billion unwinding unauthorised trading positions Kerviel had taken, which were concealed with fake hedges.
"We had no idea how it would be received," says Xavier Thomas of Thomas Editions.
The number of online pre-orders prompted Thomas to delay the book's first outing by two weeks to double the print run to 10,000. Thomas says he is considering further expanding to 20,000-30,000 copies, based on international demand.
The story of Kerviel, who rose through the ranks to Société Générale's trading floor without having attended any of France's elite schools - has made the 31-year-old a folk hero to many in France.
The book starts with Kerviel as a young man at the bank, conscious of his humble origins as he compares his "three- button polyester suit" with the haute couture of his co-workers.
It chronicles his rise to trader, showing him coming home and renting Casino. As he begins trading beyond authorised limits, he mocks the bank's risk controls, fooling managers with a fake trade approval by photocopying a note onto the letterhead of the German central bank.
Le Journal de Jerome Kervielis part of a trend in France toward comic books based on current affairs.
