Northern Trust spent bailout bucks on golf gala, Dems say
Northern Trust should return millions it spent sponsoring a professional golf tourney last week as it received $1.5 billion in federal bailout money, Dems say.
Northern Trust Corp. should return millions of dollars it spent sponsoring a professional golf tournament last week at the same time that it was receiving $1.5 billion in federal bailout money, congressional Democrats wrote in a letter to the company Tuesday.
“This behavior demonstrates extraordinary levels of irresponsibility and arrogance,” House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., and 17 other Democrats on the committee said in a letter today to Chicago-based Northern Trust Chief Executive Frederick Waddell. “Federal taxpayers should not and will not stand for such abuses.”
The 120-year-old bank sponsors the Northern Trust Open in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The tournament sponsorship is an annual event to show appreciation for clients and a way to increase business, said John O’Connell, a spokesman for Northern Trust, according to reports. He declined to say how much the bank spent on the events and didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
The bank also hosted clients and employees at parties at top hotels and gave away Tiffany souvenirs, the congressional letter said.
“We insist that you immediately return to the federal government the equivalent of what Northern Trust frittered away on these lavish events,” the Democrats wrote.
They said that any future Treasury support would “be conditioned on a thorough reform of your company’s policies and practices.”
The bank said in October that it was getting a federal injection of $1.5 billion in return for preferred stock under the $700 billion bailout aimed at stabilizing the financial system and unclogging credit channels.
Phil Mickelson won the tournament, which took place from Feb. 16 to 22.
Northern Trust had $82 billion in banking assets and $3.0 trillion under custody as of Dec. 31, according to its website.
Learn more about reprints and licensing for this article.
