Regulators and accounting experts are questioning Société Générale's use of a "get out" clause in accounting rules to book losses from Jérôme Kerviel's alleged fraud in its 2007 accounts.

The accounting treatment has been submitted to French regulators but has prompted queries in London and Washington regulatory circles. It is thought to be the first time a company of the French bank's size has used the override, known as "fair presentation" or "true and fair", which was built into international accounting rules, known as IFRS, to cover events that could not be foreseen by accounting standard setters. The override allows SocGen not to follow accounting rules if the effect would be to present a misleading picture, but experts question whether its case is a fair one.