He almost sounds hurt:
The repeated attacks against me personally in France over the past 15 months affected me but most of all, they risk harming the bank and its 163,000 employees…
It is better for me to withdraw, proud of having led a wonderful company. Like any manager I have certainly made mistakes but the strategy adopted by Société Générale has made it one of the finest banks in the eurozone.
Risk harming the bank? This is Daniel Bouton, the now departing chairman of Société Générale – some 15 months after it was revealed that the French bank had let a wild young trader, Jérôme Kerviel, wager €50bn undetected, racking up losses of €4.9bn in the process.
And now it’s nasty press coverage and a few political jibes that have belatedly convinced Mr Bouton that he’s not actually wanted any more.
Since the Kerviel scandal broke, SocGen has been scolded by the Federal Reserve for poor anti-money-laundering practices, it lost a bundle in Russia, and the bank caused outrage in France when four SocGen directors, including Bouton, chose the day of a national strike to award themselves bundles of options over discounted shares.
In days gone by the French public might have taken more direct action at an earlier juncture.
Related links:
SocGen chairman Bouton to resign – FT.com
Bouton’s dark years – Le Figaro