SocGen rogue trader was unremarkable, hardworking

By Astrid Wendlandt

PARIS (Reuters) - The rogue trader accused of causing a 4.9 billion euros ($7.18 billion) loss to Societe Generale through fraudulent trades was quiet, hardworking and generally unremarkable, people who knew him said on Friday.

The head of France's central bank has called him a "master of fraud" and "a computer genius," but a more mundane picture emerges from those who knew him before the scandal broke.

"He was just an average kind of person. When I arrived in the morning, he was there, and when I left in the evening, he was still there," said one colleague who worked in the same section of the bank as him, which dealt with equity derivatives.

The person declined to be named, saying Societe Generale, France's second-largest listed bank, had banned staff from talking to the media.

Dubbed "the man who blew up the bank" by the daily Le Parisien, a photo of 31 year-old Jerome Kerviel's unsmiling face was splashed across the world's media on Friday, a day after his name was linked with the largest fraud in banking history.

Societe Generale has still not named the dealer, but Kerviel's name surfaced within hours of the announcement on Thursday and was confirmed by banking sources.

France's financial establishment has closed ranks to blame the shock loss on a single wrongdoer.

But his character, motivation and even his whereabouts remained a riddle, though his lawyer said he was not on the run and was ready to cooperate with investigators.

His family defended him, saying he was innocent.

"He is a decent boy and who is not in my view responsible for what he is accused of. He is being made to carry the blame and he is not the guilty one. I am convinced of that," said one family member who declined to be named.

The relative said Kerviel's mother had suddenly left the town of Pont l'Abbe in the western region of Brittany, where she used to run a hairdressing salon, to be with her son, who was "not doing well" and was in the Paris area.

"LOCKSMITH TURNED BURGLAR"?

Kerviel was a graduate of universities in Nantes and Lyon, with a master's degree in finance, and had moved from SocGen's back office to become an apprentice trader in the dealing room.

Andre Tiran, Dean of the faculty at Lyon 2 University, where Kerviel earned his master's degree in middle and back office market operations, said he was a good student.

"He is a student with whom we had no problems, who was completely a totally normal student, very hard-working and with very good results," he told France 2 television, adding that his training could have come in useful in committing fraud.