The lawyer representing a group of lenders against former Arrium Limited treasury workers says the collapsed steelmaker should have been put into administration four months earlier, that it “bled cash” and shouldn’t have continued to use its loan facilities.

Tony Bannon, SC, who is representing private equity firm Anchorage Capital Group, Commonwealth Bank and Deutsche Bank and global investment firm Davidson Kempner, kicked off Monday’s legal proceedings by making the group of lenders’ case for misleading and deceptive conduct regarding the draw loan and rollover of loans by Arrium group employees.