ANZ is contesting a claim by its former star trader Etienne Alexiou, who alleges he would have earned $100 million had he not been dismissed in 2015.

The bank argues he would have made far less if he had remained.

Alexiou, the bank’s former head of global balance sheet trading, says he was wrongfully terminated after blowing the whistle on misconduct involving the manipulation of the bank bill swap rate, a key benchmark affecting mortgage and credit card rates.

According to AFR, ANZ later admitted to unconscionable conduct and paid a $50 million settlement in 2017.

The bank maintains Alexiou was dismissed for breaching its code of conduct by sending offensive messages.

After dropping an earlier $30 million claim in 2016, Alexiou revived his case under whistleblower provisions and is now pursuing $100 million.

In the Federal Court, ANZ’s barrister Robert Pietriche challenged expert evidence from remuneration consultant Zoe Lockyer, who estimated Alexiou’s lost bonuses could have reached $3–5 million annually.

Pietriche argued those assumptions were inflated, noting ANZ’s 2019 remuneration changes reduced trader bonuses and that senior managers typically remain in such roles only five to six years.

Lockyer defended her assessment, saying Alexiou’s “performance ratings were consistently at the top level” and he had received a $3.6 million sign-on bonus, typical for “professionals with high talent.”

Earlier, former ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott testified that while he had no direct insight into Alexiou’s performance, the “large amounts of equity” awarded to him indicated he “had certainly performed well in certain aspects.”

The high-profile trial, now in its fifth week, continues in the Federal Court.

Source: AFR.