QUESTION: Hey, Northern Trust! You just received $1.6 billion in bailout money! What are you going to do now?
ANSWER: Blow millions of dollars hosting extravagant parties and concerts in LA to entertain hundreds of clients and employees.
TMZ exposes all the fun.
Northern Trust, a Chicago-based bank, sponsored the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in L.A. We're told Northern Trust paid millions to sponsor the PGA event which ended Sunday, but what happened off the golf course is even more shocking.
Highlights:
- Wednesday, Northern Trust hosted a fancy dinner at the Ritz followed by a performance by the group Chicago.
- Thursday, Northern Trust rented a private hangar at the Santa Monica Airport for dinner, followed by a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire.
- Saturday, Northern Trust had the entire House of Blues in West Hollywood shut down for its private party. We got the menu -- guests dined on seared salmon and petite Angus filet. Dinner was followed by a performance by none other than Sheryl Crow.
There was also a fabulous cocktail party at the Loews. And how's this for a nice touch: Female guests at the Chicago concert all got trinkets from ... TIFFANY AND CO.
...Now how's this for outrage? Northern Trust laid off 450 workers in December, 4% of its workforce.
And here's what's absolutely amazing: The United States Government flat out gave Northern Trust the $1.6 billion in bailout money, and the bank didn't even request it!
Northern Trust gave us a statement yesterday before going total radio silence. A rep for the bank acknowledges they paid for the events, but that the bailout money did not pay for the events. He claims it was paid out of the bank's operating expenses. Here's Northern Trust's full statement to us.
Perhaps we're missing something, but money is money. How can they spend like this when they're using taxpayer's money, whether they asked for it or not? And where the hell is Congress in all of this? Is there any oversight or accountability?
TMZ takes the stand that Congress should be regulating the spending of Northern Trust. Should Congress regulate how ALL taxpayer money is spent after it is doled out to private parties? A lot of people receive government benefits. That would be tough to do.
And to think that people were so outraged over that Puerto Rico trip planned by Associated Bank.
Extremely small potatoes compared to Northern Trust's spending spree.
TMZ writes:
As for what all that costs: Well, the company isn't talking. We spoke with a rep from the band Chicago who said Northern Trust paid them around $100,000. A House of Blues source told us it cost more than $50,000 to close the joint down last Saturday night. As for Sheryl Crow's fee, her rep didn't get back to us. Earth, Wind & Fire acknowledges payment but won't say how much.
Will Northern Trust suffer the sort of bad press that Associated Bank did?
The Associated Bank employees cheated out of the trip they earned must be pretty ticked off when they hear about this stuff. And Associated Bank is pulling a profit!
I wonder why liberal queen, "one square of toilet paper per visit" Sheryl Crow would agree to perform at an event like this. Doesn't accepting money from Northern Trust go against her values? Guess not.
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UPDATE: Multi-millionaire John Kerry, husband of billionaire Teresa Heinz Kerry, will introduce a bill to end the spending spree by banks.
A senior Democratic senator said Tuesday he will introduce a bill to end "the extravagant spending practices of U.S. banks" after reports that Northern Trust Corp, which got taxpayer bailout money, last week threw lavish parties around a California golf tournament.
"I'm sick and tired of picking up the newspaper and reading about another idiotic abuse of taxpayer money, while our country is on the brink," Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement released to Reuters.
Kerry plans to introduce legislation targeting banks that received taxpayer assistance under the government's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Kerry is tired of the "idiotic abuse of taxpayer money"?
Really?
Then why did he support the so-called economic stimulus bill? Kerry has made a career out of engaging in the"idiotic abuse of taxpayer money."
Hypocrite.
What do the Democrats want? Do they want people to stop spending money? How much income was generated by the Northern Trust events? Didn't that stimulate the economy?
Aren't the Dems bragging about handing out free money to people? Aren't they erasing debt and stopping foreclosures?
They call that stuff stimulating the economy.
What's the difference?
Although her rep wouldn't say how much she earned, we do know that Sheryl Crow was stimulated.
2 comments:
Come on, we all know the crisis is not the banks' fault, it's our own fault for being too thrifty.
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=7539
OK, I agree elected officials should not be sunning themselves in the Caribbean at the taxpayer's expense, but not every business meeting is a boondoggle! Events, meetings and travel can be strategic cost effective ways to retain and develop employee talent, build engagement, generate ideas, and share knowledge that drives business growth. As a professional meeting planner, I see it every day.
Unfortunately, because a few executives displayed incredibly poor judgment by hosting flashy gatherings while receiving TARP funds, the meeting industry’s reputation has taken a significant hit.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, meetings and events are responsible for 15 percent of all travel spending and generate more than 1 million jobs and nearly $40 billion in tax revenue. Our industry does not deserve to become the sacrificial lamb of this recession.
Face-to-face meetings and idea sharing can help move this country forward. Given a chance, professional meeting planners can help their clients make responsible decisions and host events that generate significant ROI. I hope our government leaders will take this into consideration before passing any legislation that stifles this growth and shuts down a viable industry.
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