My finance view

PARIS–A trader blamed by the French bank Soci?t? G?n?ral for a massive fraud was taken into custody on Saturday, judicial officials said.

Financial police in Paris were to question Jerome Kerviel as part of a probe into the bank’s announcement Thursday the 31-year-old trader was behind a fraud costing the bank $7.14 billion, judicial officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Skeptics from Kerviel’s neighbours to France’s prime minister have questioned whether a single futures trader could have managed such large sums savings account payday advance. Adding to the mystery, the bank said Kerviel may not have made any personal gain from his unauthorized trades.

The bank said it discovered the fraud last weekend and unwound the trader’s losing bets starting Monday, when world markets tumbled.

Some analysts have questioned whether the bank exacerbated the fall and indirectly led to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s subsequent decision to cut rates.

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