French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a newspaper interview today that it was wrong for the head of Société Générale to sidestep responsibility for the French bank's trading scandal.
'I just don't understand the Société Générale situation. When the chairman of a company experiences a disaster of this magnitude and he does not assume the consequences of this, that is not normal,' Sarkozy was quoted as saying in an interview with Le Parisien.
'For someone to make €7m a year does not shock me. But on one condition, that he assumes his responsibilities. That's what the problem is with Daniel Bouton,' he added.
Sarkozy's criticism comes after SocGen chairman and CEO Daniel Bouton said in an interview published in yesterday's Les Echos newspaper that an earlier offer he had made to resign was no longer on the table.
On January 24, SocGen unveiled €4.9 billion of losses which it blamed on rogue deals carried out by Jerome Kerviel, a 31-year-old junior trader at the bank.
Kerviel has been placed under formal investigation for breach of trust, computer abuse and falsification. He is currently being held at a Paris prison.
Sarkozy has attacked SocGen's management team before over the trading scandal. On January 28, Sarkozy told reporters that the bank's management had to face up to their responsibilities over the trading scandal.
Bouton dismissed the political pressure when the bank unveiled its annual results last week, saying it was a private company that decided on its own appointments.
Finance Minister Christine Lagarde reiterated in a separate newspaper interview today that it was up to SocGen's board to decide the fate of its senior managers. 'It is up to the board to take decisions in terms of management,' she told Les Echos newspaper.
SocGen's problems have made it a takeover target, and many analysts see France's biggest listed bank BNP Paribas as a possible bidder.
French newspaper Les Echos reported today that fellow French bank Credit Agricole was emerging as a possible ally for SocGen in the face of a possible attack from BNP Paribas.
