"Wells Fargo cancels Las Vegas junket" by Associated Press | February 4, 2009
WASHINGTON - Wells Fargo & Co. abruptly canceled yesterday a pricey Las Vegas casino junket for employees after a torrent of criticism that it was misusing $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money.
The company initially defended the trip after The Associated Press reported it had booked 12 nights beginning Friday at the Wynn Las Vegas and the Encore Las Vegas. But within hours, investigators and lawmakers on Capitol Hill had scorned the bank, and the company canceled.
The conference is a Wells Fargo tradition. Previous all-expense-paid trips have included helicopter rides, wine tasting, horseback riding in Puerto Rico, and a private Jimmy Buffett concert in the Bahamas for more than 1,000 of the company's top employees and guests....
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Update: The ARROGANCE reaches a HIGHER LEVEL!!!
NEW YORK - John Stumpf, chief executive of Wells Fargo & Co., defended corporate events that recognize top achievers after the bank canceled at least two because of what he called misleading news coverage.
In a full-page ad in yesterday's New York Times, Stumpf said the events serve to honor top bankers, financial advisers, tellers, and mortgage sales people at the second-biggest US home lender. The bank, which received $25 billion in government bailout aid last year, is compelled to cancel the meetings amid "misperceptions" created by news reports, he said.
So HOW MUCH did THAT COST Wells Fargo, huh?
All to whine about unfair media coverage, can you believe it?
"The problem is many media stories on this subject have been deliberately misleading," Stumpf wrote. "These one-sided stories lead you to believe every employee recognition event is a junket, a boondoggle, a waste, or that it's for highly-paid executives. Nonsense!"
I won't dispute those claims; however, they do NOT APPLY to LOOTING BANKS!
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Wells Fargo said on Feb. 3 that it had canceled a four-day event for its home-lending unit in Las Vegas. The lender also said it had already abandoned plans for other functions. The San Francisco-based bank last month reported a $2.55 billion fourth-quarter loss....
But they were still going to PARTY for doing such a GREAT JOB!!!!!
Stumpf said in the ad that the events typically recognize employees who work long hours and enabled the bank to make more than $500 billion in loan commitments and mortgage originations over the past 18 months.
"For many, it's the only time in their lives that they're publicly recognized and thanked for a job well done," he wrote.What, the PAY ain't enough for 'em like me?!
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