By Luisana Suegart from Markets.com

In what is reported to be the largest fraud in banking history, Jerome Kerviel of French bank Societe Generale is responsible for losses greater than $7 billion. Investigations carried out by the bank reveal that Kerviel worked many nights in the office, where he secretly engaged in unauthorized trades and hacked computer systems to steal log-in codes. Kerviel began working for Societe Generale in 2000, tracking and monitoring trade executions in the back office, a position that enabled him to engage in fraudulent activity. Apparently, Kerviel's motive was not to generate profits for himself, but for the bank, or so he said to authorities. Societe Generale says Kerviel exercised his privileges far beyond their limits, taking "massive fraudulent directional positions in 2007 and 2008". The 31-year-old French trader is still free, but under close investigation.