anz plotted dirty tricks campaign

The article in the SMH brings a hold new meaning to the "we live in your world" tag line of the bank. What kind of an institution considers hunting its clients in order to bring "personal embarrassment" and seeks to "ruin" their business?

You expect this kind of stuff from a tabloid newspaper but from a bank??? Fair go ANZ.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/anz-plotted-dirty-tricks-campaign-20110704-1gz2l.html?skin=text-only

(Mark Hawthorne and Eric Johnston)

ANZ executives discussed hiring a private detective to investigate the management of stockbroker Primebroker Securities as part of an effort to ''create personal embarrassment'' for the directors of the embattled firm.

In an email to colleague Ben Steinberg, ANZ chief risk officer Christopher Page detailed plans to ''ruin'' the ''home run'' investment of Primebroker's principals, Sal Catalano and Ian Pattison, in a listed company called Blue Energy.

Mr Page also suggested ANZ could ''provide regulatory interference'' in their business affairs and described Primebroker's managers, who had been clients of ANZ for 12 years, as ''sharks''.

Details of a potential dirty-tricks campaign are in an email Mr Page sent to Mr Steinberg on June 18, 2008, in the midst of the global financial crisis.

At the time, Mr Steinberg was leading discussions with Primebroker for ANZ to buy an equity stake in the company for $55 million.

A spokesman for ANZ last night confirmed the email had been sent.

''Naturally, these were difficult circumstances and various options were considered internally but not necessarily acted upon,'' he said. ANZ did not comment on the revelation that, in the wake of the collapse of Opes Prime and Tricom, the bank had sought the advice of Westpac director Lindsay Maxsted.

In his email, Mr Page even suggested a ''strategy meeting'' between himself, Mr Steinberg and Mr Maxsted to discuss ''Chimaera and Primebroker''...