Breaking the Bank: One Trader, 50 Billion

In January 2008, Société Générale announces a loss of €4.9 billion, launching an investigation that leads to a single trader. Earlier, Jérôme Kerviel starts his financial career in Paris, rising through the ranks by betting big on major market declines.

Throughout 2007, Kerviel's reputation within Société Générale and his team continues to rise. In January 2008, the bank discovers Kerviel's hidden trades, kicking off a race against time to unwind his positions and avert a catastrophic market crash.

As the media fixates on his whereabouts, Kerviel is forced into hiding. Then, after the state presses criminal charges, Kerviel breaks his silence -- exploiting the media's obsession with him to rally public opinion.

In the years following Kerviel's sentencing, certain testimonies, including from an investigator in the financial crimes division, share the belief that some Société Générale employees had knowledge of their former trader's actions.