Trader who said he was too successful wins High Court case against SocGen
A FORMER banker won a court case against his old employer yesterday, France’s Société Générale, after claiming millions of pounds for being dismissed for being “too successful”.
Raphael Geys, who was a managing director of European fixed income sales for SocGen, won the case at the High Court in London, but the judge did not set an award.
The French bank said in a statement it would appeal the ruling and the decision. It said: “Société Générale believes that today’s decision is not a correct interpretation of the terms and conditions of Mr Geys’ employment contract when he joined the bank in February 2005. The bank will be seeking leave to appeal this decision and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.”
Geys had claimed he was summarily dismissed without cause in November 2007. “He was dismissed for being too successful in that role because the provisions in his contract were considered by the bank to be too generous,” court documents said.
Geys’ claim is for more than €12.5m (£11.2m). The judge said if figures were not agreed then “the quantification of the claim including the question of interest” would have to be determined at a future trial.
SocGen offered Geys €8m when he left. But Geys sought more, claiming that during three years at the bank he was responsible for more than doubling his unit’s gross revenue.