Inside the infosphere

"We use," Didier Hauguel pauses, "a frenzy of data." For the past six years, as group head of risk at Societe Generale (SG), the bank's risk exposure has been his responsibility. "You could worry yourself to death 10 times a day in this job," he says, but adds that the combination of advanced IT and detailed breakdown of exposures means risk managers have more information at their fingertips than ever before.

There have been minor disturbances - sharp spikes in equity volatility in May and