2008 Société Générale trading loss taken massive fraudulent directional positions in 2007 and 2008 far beyond his limited authority" and that the trades involved European stock index futures. Though bank officials say Kerviel apparently worked alone, skeptics question how unauthorized trading of this magnitude could go unnoticed. Kerviel's unassuming background and position have heightened the skepticism that he worked alone. Some analysts suggest that unauthorized trading of this scale may have gone unnoticed initially due to the high volume in low-risk trades normally conducted by his department. The bank said that whenever the fake trades were questioned, Kerviel would describe it as a mistake then
Livret A offered by La Banque Postale and the Groupe Caisse d'Épargne as of 2008. Since January 2009, it has been offered by all French banks. As of 2015, only one account may be held by an individual, with an amount from 10 Euros to 22,950 Euros. During the French presidential election, 2012, François Hollande, who was elected as the President of France, announced his intention to raise the individual amount to 30,600 Euros to build 150,000 new HLMs. In 2008, 46 million French citizens or residents owned a Livret A, for a total amount of 128,1 billion Euros in late 2007.