Anatomy of a Scandal: Société Générale or “A Rogue by Any Other Name”

In early 2008, scandal rocked Société Générale, or SocGen, France’s second largest bank. Despite a 2,000-person risk management group, a “rogue” trader caused a loss of $7.1 billion. Other companies began to ask “Can this happen to us?” and “How do we protect ourselves from this?” This session will explore the causes behind and discuss useful lessons ECOs can learn from this and similar scandals.

• Are these events “déjà vu all over again?”
• Have untested financial models replaced risk management?
• How do U.S. and European scandals differ?
• What can be learned from scandals to better inform executives about today’s compliance/ethics risks?
• What lessons can be drawn to assist ECOs in strengthening their compliance/ethics programs?