As $A30m legal action looms, ANZ boss condemns 'unacceptable' behaviour

ANZ Banking Group chief executive  Shayne Elliott has taken to social media to condemn "unacceptable behaviour" following allegations of strip club visits and drug use by staff in the bank's global markets division.

Replying to a tweet from women's' advocate Carol Schartz, who asked why women at ANZ "felt they had to shut up and play along", Mr Elliott said historic markets division behaviour was "unacceptable" and that he was "committed to action."

In a follow-up statement, Mr Elliott said "We have a strong, inclusive culture at ANZ with 60,000 overwhelmingly great people ... Where we find breaches of our code of conduct, [we] have taken and we will continue to take the action that is necessary to ensure the handful of people involved have no place at ANZ."

ANZ human resource had Susie Babani also took to Twitter, posting that it was never okay to do business in a strip club. In a statement, she added, "We want our people to speak up and to alert us to unacceptable conduct. When they do, we will investigate and we will take the necessary disciplinary action."

Two sacked traders – Etienne Alexiou and Patrick O'Connor – blame what they call a "toxic culture" at the bank for their behaviour that led to them being dismissed.

Mr Alexiou, who was paid more than $A11 million in bonuses between 2011 and 2014, has lodged a $A30 million claim against ANZ to cover deferred shares and bonuses and the loss of future income as a result of his sacking in September last year

Mr O'Connor has filed legal action for his job to be reinstated, along with his 2015 bonus of $A800,000, which he did not receive before his sacking in October. He is also claiming unspecified damages.

In interviews with the AFR, Mr Alexiou described female staff being pressured to visit strip clubs, drunken senior traders damaging property during a staff retreat, and a "white substance" found in the male toilet.

Such alleged bad behaviour was tolerated by the bank, the trader says.

However, Mr Alexiou was fired for "lewd and explicit communications" via the chat function on his Bloomberg terminals.

Mr O'Connor was sacked for running up $A37,000 of expenses including his rent, healthcare payments, an $18,000 purchase of rare coins and several charges at hotels in Sydney and Hong Kong.

On one level, the two traders seem to be failing to take ownership of their own behaviour. But it is also alleged they were led on. A Melbourne Age report says the manager who signed Mr Alexiou celebrated the occassion with a visit to central Sydney lap dancing bar.

Beyond bad social behaviour, Mr Alexiou told the AFR he formally raised concerns about the conduct of the bank toward investors and clients on three separate occasions, according to his court statement. One instance included a potential breach of Australia's Corporations Act.

The paper notes Mr Alexiou was one of seven traders stood down by the bank in November 2014 as a result of a regulatory probe into setting on the bank bill swap rate.

ANZ's chief risk officer Nigel Williams said in a statement that the bank has "already identified that many of the allegations made in both claims are not accurate and these inaccuracies will become apparent as the matters proceed through the court system."

A spokesman for ANZ's local operation said the allegation's relate to the bank's Australian operation and had no comment bar directing NBR to Mr William's statement.

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