The man who nearly took down the French bankingsystem is on the hook for millennia.

Jérôme Kerviel, the low-level trader whose rogue bets cost Société Générale 4.9 billion ($6.7 billion) in early 2008, was convicted today by a French court and ordered to repay the bank's losses.

At Société Générale, Kerviel earned about 100,000 a year ($137,000), the Journal has reported. At that rate, it would take Kerviel 49,000 years to repay what he owes. That would be a serious display of fortitude for a man Société Générale's co-CEO has called 'mentally weak.'

Kerviel's lawyer said he would appeal his conviction, and the financial damages are likely to be on hold while an appeal is underway. French media said Kerviel is earning about 2,300 a month as a computer consultant, according to the Associated Press. Repayment rate: Nearly 178,000 years.

Of course, the 33-year-old Kerviel isn't employed at Société Générale. Instead of eyeballing stock indexes at the bank's 'Delta One' desk in Paris, he was ordered to prison for three years. Kerviel's conviction today on charges of breach of trust, forgery, and unauthorized computer use also included a lifetime ban on trading.

If Kerviel is freed to work, he'll make at least the French minimum wage of 1,343.77 a month, according to Eurostat. At that pace, it would take Kerviel nearly 304,000 years to repay his fine.

Shira Ovide

• system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
• journal [´dʒə:nəl] n.日记；日报；杂志 (初中英语单词)
• lawyer [´lɔ:jə] n.律师；法学家 (初中英语单词)
• conviction [kən´vikʃən] n.定罪；确信，信服 (初中英语单词)
• financial [fi´nænʃəl] a.金融的，财政的 (初中英语单词)
• computer [kəm´pju:tə] n.计算机；电子计算器 (初中英语单词)
• trader [´treidə] n.商人；商船 (高中英语单词)
• billion [´biljən] num.万亿 (高中英语单词)
• appeal [ə´pi:l] vi.&n.请求；呼吁；上诉 (高中英语单词)
• breach [bri:tʃ] n.&v.破坏；违犯 (高中英语单词)
• lifetime [´laiftaim] n.一生，终生，寿命 (高中英语单词)
• minimum [´miniməm] n.最小量 a.最小的 (高中英语单词)
• banking [´bæŋkiŋ] n.银行业 (英语四级单词)
• fortitude [´fɔ:titju:d] n.坚忍；刚毅 (英语六级单词)