Former Trader at UBS Weeps as He Testifies LONDON (Reuters) - The former UBS trader Kweku M. Adoboli wept on Friday as he told a jury that his "off-book" trading was done for the benefit of the bank that meant everything to him. Addressing the court for the first time in his long-running trial in London, Mr. Adoboli said he had no reason to believe he was doing anything wrong since he was doing it to generate profits and colleagues knew about it. "UBS was my family and every single thing I did, every single bit of effort I put into that organization, was for the benefit of the bank," said Mr. Adoboli, his voice breaking as he wept and thumped the witness box with his hand. "That is everything I lived for," he said. The 32-year-old British-educated Ghanaian was arrested on Sept. 15, 2011, and blamed for losses of $2.3 billion. He was in custody until he was granted bail in June of this year. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and four of false accounting, covering the period from October 2008 to September 2011. The prosecution says Mr. Adoboli traded far in excess of his authorized risk limits, concealed his unhedged positions by booking fictitious hedges, and lied to the back office when asked about his accounts. Mr. Adoboli said he had developed an accounting mechanism he called his "umbrella" which allowed him to keep certain trades and the profits they generated "off-book." He said this "profit pool" served two purposes: to help offset mounting costs that were a drain on the desk's profits, and to give him and his desk colleagues confidence to trade in the knowledge that they had a "cash buffer" to fall back on should they make losses. Mr. Adoboli said he did not think this was dishonest or contrary to the bank's rules because it was intended to make a profit, which was the purpose of his job. "Ultimately that's what everyone cares about," he said. He also said that when he explained his umbrella to his three fellow traders on the exchange-traded funds desk and to colleagues from other trading desks, nobody gave any sign that they disapproved. "The response I got from everyone else is "O.K., that's a way of doing it, that's an accounting practice, keep on doing it,"" he told the court. Asked about a comment from John Hughes, a fellow trader, that "your umbrella is going to get us fired," Mr. Adoboli said it was a joke. Mr. Adoboli described the E.T.F. desk as overstretched and under-resourced. He referred to himself and Mr. Hughes, the only two traders on the desk initially, as "babies" and "kids" dealing with a "massive" $50 billion book. The courtroom was packed as Mr. Adoboli gave his evidence, wearing a dark suit and dark red tie. Most of the time he appeared confident, speaking loudly and clearly as he answered questions from his lawyer. But Mr. Adoboli cried on several occasions when friends and family were mentioned. The first was when his lawyer mentioned that his father had come from Ghana and been present in the courtroom throughout the trial, which started on Sept. After a summer internship at UBS in 2002, when he was a student, Mr. Adoboli joined the bank as a graduate trainee in 2003. Throughout his evidence on Friday, he spoke of pride and a sense of belonging and of the respect and friendship he felt for many of his colleagues. The trial continues Monday, when Mr. Adoboli will continue giving evidence.