2008 Société Générale trading loss 2008 Société Générale trading loss In January 2008, the bank Société Générale lost approximately €4.9 billion closing out positions over three days of trading beginning January 21, 2008, a period in which the market was experiencing a large drop in equity indices. The bank states these positions were fraudulent transactions created by Jérôme Kerviel, a trader with the company. The police stated they lacked evidence to charge him with fraud and charged him with breach of trust and illegally accessing computers. Kerviel states his actions were known to his superiors and that the losses were caused by panic selling by
Day trader could in theory trade a single micro-lot of USD for the cost of $20. Realistically most brokers require a minimum deposit of $500. The sheer volume of the forex market makes it a difficult one to manipulate in any meaningful way, even with the money available to large proprietary and institutional trading interests. Day trader A day trader is a trader who adheres to a trading style called day trading. This involves buying and subsequently selling financial instruments (e.g. stocks, options, futures, derivatives, currencies) within the same trading day, such that all positions will usually be closed before the market