Judge cuts rogue trader Jerome Kerviel's €4.9bn damages bill

Jerome Kerviel, the convicted rogue trader who racked up huge losses at Societe Generale (Swiss: 519928.SW - news) before the financial crisis, has had his damages bill almost eradicated by a French court.

The banker was initially handed a €4.9bn (£4.2bn) civil penalty - matching the losses from his trading positions - but a new trial was ordered after an appeals court ruled that the bank should share some of the blame.

The court, in Versailles outside Paris, found on Friday he was "partly responsible" and must now pay just €1m (£866,000) in damages to Soc Gen for the losses, which were first revealed in 2008 and mired in almost constant legal acrimony ever since.

The court which ordered the retrial in the civil case had already upheld his 2014 criminal conviction and three-year jail term but it is now understood that Kerviel intends to appeal that decision.

The Versailles court heard that Soc Gen "failed to carry out hierarchical control" over Kerviel for months and that its "faults" and "negligence" allowed him to commit his fraud.

He had always maintained that top brass were aware of his risky operations because they had earned the bank more than €1bn in 2007.

Soc Gen argued he gambled €50bn - more than the bank's entire market value - and lost.

It is not yet clear if big tax credits Soc Gen received from the French state in compensation for Kerviel's losses will now have to be repaid.

They were reported to be worth €2.2bn to the bank.