Will banking's CEO shuffle cross the Atlantic?

First Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO Stan O'Neal was ousted. Then Citigroup Inc.'s Charles Prince and Bear, Stearn & Co.'s Jimmy Cayne followed. Now, the CEO shuffle may be going international as a push to oust Societe Generale's chairman Daniel Bouton picks up steam.

However, there's a marked difference between the ouster of the U.S. bankers and the case of Bouton. For starters, Bouton offered to fall on his sword when the $7 billion in trading losses were uncovered, but the board refused to accept his resignation. Also, the main rabble-rousers in the U.S. were media and shareholders. In France, it's high-level politicians -- led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- demanding his head. None of this may matter if SocGen succumbs to an acquisition. Of course that's a possibility Sarkozy and his government have also expressed an opinion on -- as in, over my dead body, or perhaps Bouton's. - Matthew Wurtzel

See story about Bouton from Forbes.com
See Sarkozy's comments about Bouton from Bloomberg
See TheDeal.com: Pols: Save SocGen from hostile bids
See TheDeal.com: SocGen takes $7.2B fraud hit
See Dealwatch: Banks, write-downs and the CEO shuffle

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