The Paris prosecutor in the trial of Jérôme Kerviel, the Société Générale trader at the heart of its €4.9bn ($7.1bn) loss, has ordered that he be held in custody during the investigation for fear he may abscond. The move came as a second a second man linked with the bank was held in custody and questioned in connection with the fraud.

Earlier, French media reported that an employee of NewEdge, which was created last month through the combination of the broking units of SocGen and French rival Calyon, had also been detained by French police.