The ternary compound ZrSiTe is a metal with the majority of the emission at the Fermi level due to Zr d-states. It is noteworthy that Si as wen as Te states significantly contribute to the DOS at E(F). Small chemical shifts of the core levels are indicative of only small charges on the different atoms. The calculation of the experimental bandstructure supports the conclusions drawn from the experimental valence band spectra. In addition, the results exhibit that the bonding interactions are strong within the layers and only weak perpendicular to the layers. Hence, the material is not a "true" two-dimensional layer compound, but it is rather weakly three dimensional.