As I reported Wednesday, AIG spent more than $440,000 wining and dining salespeople and company managers at the St. Regis. The bill included nearly $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals, $23,000 in spa charges and almost $7,000 for golf outings.
Responding to outrage over the wingding, AIG said the company's CEO, Edward Liddy, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson explaining the nature of the event. Liddy was quoted as saying that AIG was "reevaluating the costs of all aspects of our operations in light of the new circumstances in which we are all operating."
Be that as it may, AIG's Norton said next week's Ritz-Carlton retreat would proceed as planned. He said the event would introduce new insurance products to salespeople who specialize in wealthy clients.
Norton declined to provide a price tag for the event. A Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman also declined to comment.
The hotel's website describes the facility as "an elite golf and spa resort" where guests can "enjoy soothing coastal breezes and captivating ocean views," and "estate-style accommodations."
Rates vary from $399 a night for a run-of-the-mill room to more than $1,000 for a suite. In other words, just the place to bask in what's now more than $100 billion in taxpayer cash pouring down on AIG.
In Wachovia's case, the company declined to say what cruise line the Edwards workers would be taking or what islands they would be visiting.
Dougherty called the cruise a "recognition trip" and said such things "are common practices around brokerage firms."
Wachovia agreed last week to be purchased by Citi for about $2 billion. Under terms of the deal, Citi said it would assume the first $42 billion in losses related to Wachovia's stinkiest mortgages, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would shoulder all losses above that amount -- possibly as much as $270 billion.
Days later, though, Wells Fargo stepped in with a $15-billion offer that wouldn't include taxpayer funds. Citi and Wells then unleashed their lawyers on each another.
A compromise was expected to be reached by Wednesday. The two sides now say they'll try to cook something up by Friday.
Sounds like stressful work. What these guys need is a little vacation.
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Consumer Confidential runs Wednesdays and Sundays and occasionally in between. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.
