ANZ’s ex-CEO says trader was fired for bad behavior, not for speaking up!
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has defended its move to fire trader Etienne Alexiou. The trader said he was removed in 2015 because he spoke up about rate issues. But the bank said he was fired for breaking work rules.
ANZ said Alexiou sent bad and rude messages during work. These messages had sexual jokes, comments about women, drug talk, and strip club mentions. The bank said this went against its rules and values.
Former ANZ boss Shayne Elliott told the court in Sydney that the bank had clear proof of what Alexiou did wrong. He said the decision to fire him was fair and necessary.
The case also shows how bad behavior was a problem in the bank’s trading team at that time. One report said another senior trader came to a company event drunk and did car stunts in a Porsche.
Now, this story is raising questions about bank culture and how workers behave at top financial firms. People expect banks to set stricter rules and keep a clean work environment to stop such issues from happening again.
Impact:
This case could make banks more strict about employee behavior and improve discipline in the finance industry.
