Jerome Kerviel goes from zero to hero

Is Societe Generale's Jerome Kerviel a rogue trader or folk hero? In less than a week Kerviel has gone from being a quiet backroom trader on a modest salary to being saluted around the world as 'the Che Guevera of Finance'. Since he was accused of losing France's second-biggest bank £3.7bn - causing chaos last Monday in the world's already jumpy financial markets - history's biggest rogue trader has gained cult status.

The 'James Bond of Soc Gen' has acquired some 30 online fan clubs, in both French and English, and inspired thousands of women to post their love for him online. T-shirt makers have already sprung into action, selling 'Jerome Kerviel's girlfriend' tops in pale pink, and others emblazoned with 'Jerome Kerviel, 4,900,000,000 euros Respect'. Over the past two days alone there have been a million searches for Kerviel on Google. Websites with his name have popped up, while dozens of Kerviel videos have been posted on YouTube, and he has a detailed Wikipedia entry.

There has been some mockery of the Frenchman - within hours of the discovery of his fraud a spoof story was runnning that Kerviel was ‘stressed out’ by his French 30-hour working week - but more people appear to be delighted that he has humiliated the establishment and embarrassed "Bling-Bling Sarko". He is also seen as a scapegoat: when global banking has already written off $130bn on the subprime crisis, the £3.7bn stolen by 'the Nick Leeson of the Noughties' looks like small change. (Continued below)

Meanwhile it has emerged that Kerviel's brother lost his job as a broker at a Paris bank last year after breaking its rules. Olivier Kerviel, 36, resigned last April from B Capital, a stockbroking subsidiary of BNP Paribas, after being found to be in breach of internal procedures.

The possibility of a fraternal double act arose as the board of Societe Generale considered replacing its chairman, Daniel Bouton. President Nicolas Sarkozy has led calls for Bouton to resign, though his government has promised to defend SocGen against a foreign takeover despite the fact that this contravenes EU laws.