Macquarie Bank has been hit with accusations by former employees that men allegedly had harassed women working for the bank.
One male stockbroker allegedly cut off the ponytail of a female colleague and then placed it in front of her, while another male employee took ‘upskirt’ photographs of a desk assistant.
The claims come as the bank was hit with a 26-page dossier from angry investors claiming the workplace culture in 2012 was out-of-control, with sexist behaviour, reckless trading and drug use,The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
One of the allegations made in the letter claims Macquarie chose not to sack one badly-behaved financial adviser ‘because of the amount of commission he earned’.
A letter sent to Macquarie Bank and ASIC by disgruntled former investors alleges the bank had a culture of ‘rampant drug taking, reckless trading and sexist behaviour’
A solicitor from Macpherson Kelley Lawyers, confirmed to Daily Mail Australia the firm sent the letter on behalf of several clients ‘who have concerns about the financial advice provided by Macquarie in relation to Cleveland Mining’.
Separate to the claims made by the investors, former Macquarie Bank staff told the Sydney Morning Herald a desk assistant had her pony tail chopped off by a male colleague while at work in 2013.
‘He put the hair on her desk, right in front of her. She was so shocked she didn’t say anything, and really only started talking about it at the Christmas party about a month later,’ a former bank employee told the paper.
While it was reported some staff ‘laughed’ at the incident when it happened, another staff member claimed it was difficult for women working at the bank at the time to ‘maintain a sense of respect’.
Another banker allegedly took ‘upskirt’ pictures of a female senior employee in 2014 on a mobile phone, but is reported to have faced no consequence from the bank other than a request he move desks.
One adviser for the bank was also accused of taking pictures of a female employee and circulating them among staff.
Former staff have claimed a former female employee had her ponytail cut off by a male colleague while at work, but no action was taken (stock image)
The bank has denied the allegations and says employees involved have since left the company, and the bank had not been alerted to the incidents when they happened
In each case of alleged sexual harassment or bullying by male staff, it is claimed no disciplinary action was taken.
Macquarie Bank hit back against these claims on Tuesday morning, with a spokesperson responding: ‘None of the workplace behaviour allegations raised involve current staff’.
‘The allegations were either never previously put to Macquarie, or those that were made were reviewed and appropriate action taken,’ the spokesperson continued.
‘Macquarie treats all allegations of inappropriate or illegal behaviour with the utmost seriousness.’
The bank also noted that no formal litigation had commenced against it.
Other male employees have been accused of sexual harassment, with former staff claiming two men took pictures of female colleagues
Macpherson and Kelley are representing disgruntled former investors, who allege two senior employees of the bank had falsely inflated the price of shares in Cleveland, a Brazilian iron ore company.
Macquarie Bank’s spokesperson claimed in their retort on Tuesday there had been a ‘full investigation’ into how shares in Cleveland were traded, which found it was all above board.
‘As part of a full investigation into the Cleveland Mining matter, Macquarie wrote in June to clients who owned shares in the company, informing them we are conducting a review,’ the statement read.
‘That investigation is substantially complete and we have found no evidence of inappropriate trading.’
The bank has further alleged the letter and subsequent leaking of it to Fairfax are part of an ‘attempt to solicit clients’, and ‘lack any credible evidence or source’.
‘If Macpherson Kelley is unable to substantiate these assertions or show any relevance to the allegations it is pursuing, it raises real questions about the firm’s compliance with the Solicitors’ Conduct Rules,’ a spokesperson for the bank said.