Sacked ANZ trader Patrick O'Connor promises more embarrassing revelations

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An ANZ Banking Group bond salesman sacked for using a work credit card on personal purchases said it was standard practice to charge personal expenses and repay them later.

Former head of fixed income sales Patrick O'Connor, who is suing the bank for unfair dismissal, also promised to make public more embarrassing information about the bank following sensational claims on Friday about ANZ's "toxic" culture.

A sacked ANZ bond salesman has defended his use of the corporate credit card. Photo: Glenn Hunt

"As my legal case progresses, full and extensive details of what went on in the senior ranks of the ANZ Bank will be revealed so that my behaviour can be seen in context," he said.

In a statement sent to media outlets by his public relations adviser, Mr O'Connor said personal use of credit cards was "a tolerated practice throughout some senior ranks of the bank that official bank credit cards would be used for private expenditure on occasions, on the condition that private expenditure was repaid to the bank".

Mr O'Connor was fired due to an "abuse of a company-issued credit card", the bank said in a statement, and his explanations about the spending were contradictory. 

"At no stage did I use my official bank credit card fraudulently, nor has that ever been alleged against me by the bank," he said. "At no stage has the bank asked me to repay any disputed expenses and in fact they fully approved my expenses numerous times. Over this period, I spent more of my own money on bank expenses, using my private credit card, than the other way round. This was then repaid to me by the bank."

Innocent mistake

Mr O'Connor was sacked for running up expenses on his corporate credit card of $37,000 over one year including an $18,000 purchase of rare coins, a $7468 rent payment to LJ Hooker and a $1478 health insurance payment. He made a $2740 payment for alcohol to a company called "Loke" and three payments totalling $4000 to Sydney hotels.

Mr O'Connor said the corporate card was used when his personal card was rejected and that either he or his wife had inadvertently used the card to pay personal expenses. The bank's internal expenses system, Spendvision, was set up to handle personal payments, he said.

Mr O'Connor and a sacked ANZ trader, Etienne Alexiou, made separate claims that a toxic culture within ANZ's global markets division tolerated and even encouraged behaviour that was at odds with official codes of conduct.

Mr O'Connor, who was dismissed in October 2015, is taking legal action against the bank demanding that either his job be reinstated, damages be paid in addition to his 2015 bonus of $800,000 and reinstatement of his unvested shares, or he be compensated for his bonuses, shares, expenses, damages and the loss of future income, according to court filings. 

Explicit messages

The bank said his explanations to various bank staff members were contradictory and not within the bank's guidelines.  ANZ said Mr O'Connor didn't declare outstanding credit card debts with other banks when he applied for a personal loan with the bank, which he said was "sloppy" but not "intentionally dishonest", according to a letter firing him.  

The bank mentioned seven instances of lewd and sexually explicit comments via his Bloomberg chat terminal.

Mr O'Connor said in a statement to the Federal Court he suffered depression and hyperthymia, or extreme overactivity, and said ANZ had "selectively and disproportionately" subjected him to "investigation, suspension and termination" without attempting to "modify his behaviour".

This behaviour was "required" by ANZ's culture, and as a result of his disabilities, he "could not effectively control himself".