French banker jailed for his risky trades

The trader, Jerome Kerviel, whose unauthorised deals lost around 5bn euros ($7bn; £4bn) for his French bank Societe Generale, has been found guilty of forgery and breach of trust.

The presiding judge told the court that Mr Kerviel "knowingly went beyond his remit as a trader".

He had maintained throughout his trial that the bank tolerated his massive risk-taking as long as it made money.

The BBC's Christian Fraser said he expected the bosses at Societe Generale to be pleased with the outcome.