Bailed-out bank eliminated 450 jobs and then spent millions on lavish parties in LA.
Bailed-out bank eliminated 450 jobs and then spent millions on lavish parties in LA.
Northern Trust received $1.6 billion in bailout funds and announced in December that it was eliminating 450 jobs because “the macroeconomic environment has been extraordinarily difficult.” But as TMZ reports, that hasn’t stopped the bank from spending “a fortune last week in L.A. hosting a series of lavish parties and concerts with famous singers”:
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.
Northern Trust flew hundreds of clients and employees to L.A. and put many of them up at some of the fanciest and priciest hotels in the city. We’re told more than a hundred people were put up at the Beverly Wilshire in Bev Hills, and another hundred stayed at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. Still more stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey and others at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica.
Northern Trust said in a statement that the parties were funded through “our normal cash flow,” not bailout funds. But lawmakers are having none of it. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) called it “insulting” and “disgusting.” Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said that the bank should “pay the government back for the money it spent.”
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Ah, Mr Frank “should” have said the bank WILL PAY the government back the funds it took from the Federal Government.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:43 amTee hee…
February 25th, 2009 at 9:44 amWell if the affair was funded with “their normal cash flow”, why the f(ck did they get bailout funds?
February 25th, 2009 at 9:45 amThe government should know by now that you don’t trust even your grandmother with either money or drugs.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:45 amNorthern Trust said in a statement that the parties were funded through “our normal cash flow,” not bailout funds.
Uh, I thought the reason they GOT bailout funds was because their “normal cash flow” wasn’t sufficient to fund their “normal operations”…
They really think we’re stupid.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:48 amralph the wonder llama Says:
They really think we’re stupid.
____________
It’s a trait much of the human race shares. Any given group can never fathom that the other party might actually be smarter than they are.
Take the GOOP, as a whole, or our beloved trolls…
February 25th, 2009 at 9:52 amChicago got a cool $100K to gig for banksters? That’s ‘rich’.
This is the same golf course O.J. used to be a member at.
Did anyone see him searching the sand bunkers for the killer?
Let’s take ‘the Trust’ out of bank names. Trust in banksters ceases to exist…
February 25th, 2009 at 9:53 amAre we surprised? Why hecky no! This is the way they operate. They are arrogant and think they are very special and that they deserve all the perks. I think they are disgusting.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:56 am450 employees and their families lives disrupted, all so Northern Trust could party? Seize the bank and get the money back. Oh yeah…and prosecute the bank decision makers for fraud.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:57 amlarkohio Says:
I think they are disgusting.
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You’re far, far, far from alone in that opinion.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:58 amRefund please. Not satisfied with the product our tax dollars bought.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:00 amHow about some sort of executive fine system for these jerks.
President Obama addressed this in his speech last night. The government needs to shut down all golf courses and resorts in this country and must put a stop to corporations buying private aircraft. It’s just an insult to hard working Americans everywhere.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:00 amI saw Barney Frank on TV last night. He said the Northern Trust bankers told him they couldn’t be subjected to any oversight because Bush forced them to take the money. He told them to give it back if they didn’t want it. Otherwise, they will be subject to whatever Congress tells them to do.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:00 amI’m really starting to get pissed off. I’m tired of hearing how the neer-do-well are partying it up at the expense of the middle class. Shouldn’t these people go to jail.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:01 amI agree with Barney Franks and raise the ante: they should be made to pay the entire 1.6 billion back to us.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:03 amralph the wonder llama Says: They really think we’re stupid.
I think they also think they are better than us. We may not advertize it, but we do have a socio-economic caste system in Amerca.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:04 amThe bailout money never made it into their normal cash flow.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:05 amIt went straight to the Cayman Islands.
Not for a moment am I wishing to defend these bankers, but I will say this.
The bail-out money was handed out to banks with minimal strings attached. That these junkets are happening should surprise no-one, and until the legislators actually step up and ban these practises they will continue. Not perhaps in as obviously a flagrant a manner, but the spend will go on.
In short, many people will be greedy wankers until there is a severe enough punishment that compels them to change.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:05 amWTF?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:07 amshoeless Says: I saw Barney Frank on TV last night.
I love his no-nonsense approach. No wonder he’s got job security.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:07 amNow you see the difference between the bailout and Socialism. In a Socialist system, the bankers are not allowed to party with public funds.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:08 amAbsolutely, Congress and the Bush administration share responsibility for debacles like this.
But jeebus, are these bankers so completely bereft of any sense of responsibility and appropriateness that they don’t recognize how fu(ked up this is?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:09 amIf they want to party like it’s 1929, don’t take taxpayer money.
I don’t want one penny of my money going to companies shedding jobs. What kind of reverse economic development is that?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:10 am“The government needs to shut down all golf courses and resorts in this country…”
LOL
Don’t shut them down, just let us common folk in there to play ultimate frisbee and swim in the pools.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:10 amRegular cash flow? If you a$$hole thieves had a cash flow in the fist place, you wouldn’t have needed a taxpayer bailout.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:11 amThose Cayman Island folks are revamping the global and U.S. financial system:
http://peureport.blogspot.com/2009/02/carlyle-groups-micro-office-in-cayman.html
February 25th, 2009 at 10:12 amCongress should sue them and recover all bailout funds! Don’t just talk about it – go get the the money back! Make an example out of Northern Trust.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:13 amBarbera Says:
The government needs to shut down all golf courses and resorts in this country…
___________
Oh pul-lease… do we really want to give Long John bOOOOOOOOOhner another reason to cry on camera?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:14 amBarbera says..”The government needs to shut down all golf courses and resorts in this country…” What an incredible response to fraud. Stick to the issues please. Money was given and money was misspent; resolve that, don’t go overboard and incriminatelegitimate businesses.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:14 amavchavis Says:
Congress should sue them and recover all bailout funds! Don’t just talk about it – go get the the money back! Make an example out of Northern Trust.
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Ooooooooo… did I hear someone call for a perp walk?
Perhaps we’d be getting some answers from these greedy, arrogant slugs if they got to watch a couple of their fellow banksters frog marched into Congress to testify under oath on that there telebision thingy…
February 25th, 2009 at 10:17 amPARTY OVER
February 25th, 2009 at 10:18 amI will defend my golf course until they pry that 7 iron from my cold, dead fingers, Barbera.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:18 amstateofthedivision Says:
What kind of reverse economic development is that?
______________
The Rich Guy Preservation Act of 2008?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:19 amMake an example out of these frauds. Rescind the bailout money and let them fail. Let the invisible hand of the market spank their fat gluttonous butts.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:19 amTime for a vote:
Jail
Firing Squad
February 25th, 2009 at 10:20 amThe government needs to shut down all golf courses and resorts in this country and must put a stop to corporations buying private aircraft.
excuse me?
first off, i am by no means rich but i do enjoy paying 10 bucks to play 9 holes at my local public golf course, way better then that same 10 bucks on a movie. not every golf course is a ritzy top end country club.
secondly, if the government were closing down every golf course this would be some sort of confused fascist state i certainly would not want to live in.
thirdly, how is the aircraft relevant to golf courses? this seems to be a pretty over the top knee jerk reaction.
although i agree on the aircraft, maybe you meant we need to stop allowing corporate sponsorship of athletics from bailed out corporations. this would make sense.
arbitrarily closing golf courses is asinine.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:24 amBarney! Change should to MUST!
February 25th, 2009 at 10:28 amNorthern Trust needs to reimburse the govt or be shut the hell down.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:30 amgus smith Says:
Money was given and money was misspent
HOOO RAAAY!! Screw the rich bastids, and shut down the resorts and golf courses too!
February 25th, 2009 at 10:30 amAs we’ve suspected, Bush and his cronies raided the treasury complete on their way outta town.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:31 amBut jeebus, are these bankers so completely bereft of any sense of responsibility and appropriateness that they don’t recognize how fu(ked up this is?
No, they don’t.
All the more reason to legislate, IMHO.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:34 amAnd think, our reps just voted for more of the same. Whoooohoooo! Can anyone say, gety’a torch and pitch forks?
I am sick of hearing about the poor folks who got screwed by the big lenders. I’m getting screwed by them and I didn’t do business with them. When someone is drowning and you can’t help them, I’m a firm beleiver in one casualty, not two!
February 25th, 2009 at 10:35 amAgain… WTF?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:36 amProsecution for fraud should begin IMMEDIATELY; huge fines should be amerced and the resulting moneys distributed to laid-off employees who have not yet found new jobs.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:41 amAll TARP funds SHOULD be required to be repayed, at current interest rates (i.e. — they should be loans to these banks, under the EXACT SAME conditions that THEY do their loan business).
They understand how the loan system works, and since the system is what they thive on and support completely (even as they continue to lay off employees despipte receiving taxpayer welfare checks, and foreclose on ANYONE who misses a payment regardless of circumstance), they should be overjoyed to abide by it to prove how effective and fair it is. Give THEM an appropriate interest rate, which, for many of them, would be pretty high since they are “high risk” based on their insolvent positions.
That they have 350 billion among them, no strings, no interest, and no requirements to repay is insanely irresponsible and clearly demonstrates the class differences that they expect to live in: the sense of ENTITLEMENT that executives and “big money” people in America and their defenders (mainly hard-line conservatives) have come to expect.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:42 amshoeless Says:
I saw Barney Frank on TV last night. He said the Northern Trust bankers told him they couldn’t be subjected to any oversight because Bush forced them to take the money.
The devil made us do it! The devil made us do it!
February 25th, 2009 at 10:43 amWhat about investigating Hank Paulson for dereliction of duty.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:47 amSend them on a “harmony” retreat to some Nevada ski cabins up in the middle of the woods, with all the 450 they axed.
Have some axes up there, too. Whatever happens happens, maybe some accidents with the lift or something.
I’m for trials but the idea of just releasing Saddam into the heart of one of the oppressed districts and driving off was tempting (and dress him in bright orange or naked), so maybe now’s the time.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:47 amThat’s patriotism – these good, god-fearing Bankers will not allow the cocaine and stripper economy to grind to a halt.
Hey Drew – wanna go catch a Chippendale’s show with me and some friends from Citigroup???
February 25th, 2009 at 10:48 amYeah, that’s why you’re a Republican.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:48 amCagey since when could the bad banks manage their debts? Default for sure.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:50 ambecause Bush forced them to take the money.
(movie snippet…..)
BUSH: “Here. Take this 3 billion dollars.”
BANK: “NO! You can’t make us take it!”
BUSH: “Take it, damn your eyes!”
BANK: “No, no, no…!”
(fade out as a poorly coreographed ‘rape’ scene begins, whose effect is seriously diminished by the banks screaming, “No.. don’t … stop… don’t… stop… don’t stop, don’t stop… YES.. no… YES, YES, YEEEEESSSSSS!!!!”)
Have I got that right?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:51 amThey needed asset infusions, which is not a loan issue. Now we do need laws and if they break them arrest them.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:51 amHank Paulson did his duty, Shayne, he delivered the final golden purse to the corporate robber-bankers.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:51 amHe was only doing his assigned duty.
For which he should be investigated. For starters.
right drew – none of those bad assets were compiled by greedy yuppies trying to buy 22 rental houses the Carlton Sheets way, were they??
it was just those damned poor people who tricked the nice bankers into converting those mortgages into derviatives and selling them based on false assumptions about growth in the real estate market – because that’s what poor people do.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:53 amOn an interview last night, Barney Franks was pretty clear about ending these practices and getting back $$ from those who didn’t take the matter seriously enough.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:54 amWhen asked about certain “loopholes” that might be used by bankers, Franks said he had already anticipated them and wrote legislation to preclude such actions.
singe_101 Says:
Cagey since when could the bad banks manage their debts? Default for sure.
Well, first give them a single chance to return all the TARP money if they don’t want to repay with interest. They can pay, or dafult. If they default, they lose their bank as a private organization (fire the execs, drop shareholders, and then sell the bank back to the private sector).
Or nationalize the banking industry and make it a not-for profit endeavor (and any consequential profits would be for federal programs… like the military, welfare, healthcare (;) ) etc.).
February 25th, 2009 at 10:55 ambecause no one was out selling mortgages to make their #’s or earn bonuses, right Drew???
some working poor janitor in Gardena CA INVENTED CDO’S. right Drew!?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:56 amI think the American public must see a few of these high profile financial criminals do a perp walk to court and to jail.
BTW, shoeless, I didn’t mean to step on your earlier comment on Franks.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:58 amFranks has serious intent on pursuing the abusers.
Barbera Says:
HOOO RAAAY!! Screw the rich bastids, and shut down the resorts and golf courses too!
Back under your bridge troll. We have no need for you here.
February 25th, 2009 at 11:03 amtombaker Says:
it was just those damned poor people who tricked the nice bankers into converting those mortgages into derviatives and selling them based on false assumptions about growth in the real estate market – because that’s what poor people do.
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Damn the poor… and their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th homes, and their private jets, and golf courses…
February 25th, 2009 at 11:03 amit’s the sneaky way they trick bankers who have MBA’s that’s truly dangerous TRoS.
Drew wants to fix that, by punishing them with homelessness. The Bankers get to keep all theirs, and have lavish coke and stripper parties, to make up for how the mean, tricky poor people made them crash their banks.
February 25th, 2009 at 11:11 amDid I hear someone say “let them eat cake”?
February 25th, 2009 at 11:20 amho-ho’s actually, vinyl.
February 25th, 2009 at 11:22 amtombaker Says:
The Bankers get to keep all theirs, and have lavish coke and stripper parties, to make up for how the mean, tricky poor people made them crash their banks.
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Yer right, tombaker. ***sniff…*** I feel fer those bankers… they NEED their coke and stripper parties… damn the poor!!!
February 25th, 2009 at 11:26 amhey TRos – saw one of your posts linked up over at Bartcop. cool. Bart is the man, and I try never to miss a new page of his.
a shot of Chinaco in you honor!!
February 25th, 2009 at 11:51 amtombaker Says:
hey TRos – saw one of your posts linked up over at Bartcop. cool. Bart is the man, and I try never to miss a new page of his.
a shot of Chinaco in you honor!!
__________
Moi!?!?
February 25th, 2009 at 11:56 amBarbera Says:
HOOO RAAAY!! Screw the rich bastids, and shut down the resorts and golf courses too!
Those are your tax dollars they’re spending on luxuries.
.
tombaker Says:
That’s patriotism – these good, god-fearing Bankers will not allow the cocaine and stripper economy to grind to a halt.
See, the report fails to deduct those created jobs from the total. Although 450 jobs were lost, hookers, dealers and waitstaff jobs were created, so the net job loss is smaller than reported.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:04 pmTheresa Says:
Well if the affair was funded with “their normal cash flow”, why the f(ck did they get bailout funds?
It’s like this – let’s say I ask you for a loan of $20, because I’m flat broke and need to take the bus to work all next week. You give me the $20 and I put it in my left pocket. Then I order a pizza, which I pay for with a $20 that I pull from my right pocket. It’s OK, because I didn’t spend the $20 that you loaned me on the pizza.
Being a banker must be awesome.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:06 pmWhy don’t we hear any outrage from the “fiscally responsible conservatives” on this issue?
February 25th, 2009 at 12:07 pmI really don’t see a difference between the way thse guys spent our money and the way the federal government spends our money – any way they see fit without regard to whose money it is they are spending. I think it’s funny that our government should point their self-righteous, greedy fingers at someone else.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:11 pmHas anyone tried to explain to the repubs (especially the loyal 25%ers), that the bank bailout funds with these abuses are the funds passed by the repubs at the request of a repub president using speeches of apocalyptic imagery ?
The bailout funds pushed by the dems under Obama have attached strings listed. In fact, the strings are part of the complaints that the repubs are making about the funds (see speeches by Gov Sanford, SC). And tat bill was just passed so the funds are just now on the verge of hitting the street.
In fact, vote for bailout funds under Bush with no strings was extremely high by repubs.
Vote for bailout funds under Obama with strings attached, almost totally opposed by repubs.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:12 pmshoeless Says:
Why don’t we hear any outrage from the “fiscally responsible conservatives” on this issue?
We do… sort of. The whole, “Obama is spending like mad” and “Obama is increasing the debt on our children” and all that noise. They don’t count anything that Bush did because he was a conservative and thusly everything he did was right, and the only things that were not perfect that he did have their failures in the actions of liberal democrats.
Simple:
republican/conservative = perfection that cannot be critiqued
liberal/democratic/progressive = failure before starting and ultimate evil
February 25th, 2009 at 12:13 pmmiyun Says:
I really don’t see a difference between the way thse guys spent our money and the way the federal government spends our money
Well, for one — the government is the entity that we expect to spend the money it collects from us. Most ordinary people do not like the idea of propping up businesses that failed for ANY reason, much less by greedy and dishonest practices. The government has (or is supposed to have) oversight and accountability (when run properly) for money spent. Private companies who operate for their own profit have no NEED, nor any real expectation, to do anything that is not in their best ‘bottom line’ interest. And that is fine, as long as it is THEIR money they are being irresponsible with. The PROBLEM is that they have received unprecedented welfare checks from the taxpayers with no oversight, and not even vague assurances that the taxpayer money they received as corporate welfare will be used to better the nation and its people (whose money constitutes.. umm… let’s see…. 100% of the welfare they received).
Note very carefully that no one (not that I’ve heard) is complaining that they cannot spend THEIR OWN money to have their planes and parties and what-not. If they don’t need welfare checks, then don’t take them and no one cares what legal things they do with money that is legally 100% their own.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:20 pmCageyCretin Says:
They don’t count anything that Bush did because he was a conservative and thusly everything he did was right, and the only things that were not perfect that he did have their failures in the actions of liberal democrats.
___________
I recall seeing righties claiming Botch really wasn’t a ‘conservative’ as he neared the end of his term, but more of a ‘closet liberal’.
Two slams for the price of one, huh?
February 25th, 2009 at 12:42 pmMore proof of the criminality of the rich class. One day they will hang on the cross.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:58 pmFor the financial imbeciles who still can’t get it, let me put this in terms that even you can understand. There is no difference between bailout funds and “normal cash flow”, particularly when your “normal cash flow” increasingly is bailout funds.
If you say that you can afford to throw lavish parties out of state, you are saying, “We don’t need any bailout!”
Let me find my baseball bat, and then I’ll be ready to answer your questions.
February 25th, 2009 at 1:18 pmNope, I don’t work. I live in my moms basement eating cheetos all day long.
February 25th, 2009 at 1:44 pmnice, lots of out-of-work caddies, bartenders, waitresses, musicians (like me, one of my longterm biggest clients is a golf course), etc…
I smell a troll…
February 25th, 2009 at 2:03 pmSure. I work all the time. I get a coffee break and check in here. It’s more stimulating than caffeine!
Unlike you trolls, I don’t get paid to be here, or I would be here more.
February 25th, 2009 at 2:09 pm.
Of course this party was funded through “normal cash flow”…
… So why the need for bail-out money AND the lay offs?
.
February 25th, 2009 at 2:11 pmLike everyone else, I’m opposed to banks who’ve received TRAP fund frivolously spending the money. However, it is also a fact that attracting and retaining clients requires business to provide valuable perks. Of course, the cost of these perks can sometimes be excessive and unnecessary—and I don’t know whether Northern Trust’s outing exceeded what would be considered typical for the industry—but unlike employees in the current economic environment who have limited opportunities to switch employers, clients are in a position to move their business to a competitor. In fact, it is probably an ideal time for clients to entertain proposals from other firms willing to offer the same services at lower cost. The agency-client relationship has always involved the former maintaining a stipend for entertaining the later. It is a fact of modern business relationships, and the public must understand that companies view entertaining their clients as an investment with the expectation that strengthening the relationship will increase the prospect of acquiring additional billings—hopefully more than enough to recoup the outlay.
February 25th, 2009 at 3:11 pmLushMoron is back. Doing what he does. Begging us to pity his monumental stupidity. Knowing he will never have self respect or really ANY respect he drops by for his daily dose of pity. He parades his ignorance shows off how stupid and pathetic he is then begs us to pity him. Its just sad. He has no hope for pride, higher brain function or anyone taking him seriously so he just settles for our pity and constantly begs us for it. I wish he would just learn to accept the fact he is stupid, sad and pathetic and always will be then find a way to cope OTHER than stopping by and begging us to pity him.
February 25th, 2009 at 3:11 pmLushMoron Says:
Just in case someone missed his earlier sadly stupid post. LushMoron drops another little trollturd to wring out all the pity he can beg out of us.
February 25th, 2009 at 3:16 pm“Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said that the bank should “pay the government back for the money it spent.”
Barney Frank and his recklessness on the House Financial Services Committee is what triggered our economic problems, maybe Barney will pay us all back.
February 25th, 2009 at 5:32 pmDeuce Coupe Says:
Barney Frank and his recklessness on the House Financial Services Committee is what triggered our economic problems, maybe Barney will pay us all back.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Are you really this stupid? Is this kind of ignorance the best you can do? So you just drop these talking points Rush TOLD you to believe and expect us act like they make sense after we have already debunked them twenty times or so? You are nothing but an ignorant propaganda parrot. A troll punk without the semblance of a brain.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:33 pmIt’s fun to rail at fat cat bankers. but people should remember a couple of things – one, the bank must have had this event planned for a year or more, long before the TARP fund program was initiated. Meetings like this serve a legitimate business purpose. Sure, it looks bad, but to have canceled the event would not have saved them money, as that money was already spent. Not to mention the $3 million that was raised for charity
Second, when meetings like this are canceled literally hundreds of people lose income, many of them low-wage workers like banquet staff, maids, security guards, greens keepers, etc. The meetings business is hurting badly because of the demonization of legitimate business gatherings as “junkets” and “lavish parties”.
February 28th, 2009 at 1:27 pm