insto - Australian financial markets

ANZ has reached an out of court settlement with former institutional banking chief Steve Targett, who sued the bank for A$57 million after being passed over as chief executive.

The case was due to be heard in the Federal Court next week, but the two parties reached agreement to end a two and a half year legal dispute in a move which takes a potential A$57 million liability off the ANZ balance sheet.

Targett left London in 2004 from Lloyds TSB to join ANZ, reporting to former chief John McFarlane.

Due largely to the US$11 billion dollar government offering from the United Kingdom this week, year-to-date debt volume from UK issuers has surpassed 2008 volume in the year-to-date period, climbing to US$142.1 billion.  This is according to the numbers published by Thomson Reuters, who noted that weekly UK volume totalled US$19.1 billion, the highest weekly level since October 2007.