Citigroup Paid Employees $13M for Scrapped Resort Trip

Citigroup employees whose jaunts to the Bahamas were canceled amid scrutiny of the bailed-out bank's spending were paid $13 million in compensation for the scrapped getaway, insiders tell Bloomberg. Sales agents—all 1900 of them—who had been scheduled to stay at a swanky resort were paid $5,000 each, while 2,000 brokerage advisers were given debit cards worth up to $3,000.

The Bahamas junket was one of several scrapped by financial firms after President Obama's recent warning that bailed out companies "can’t take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime.” A Citi spokeswoman defended the payouts, saying it was necessary to retain top performers in some of the banks' still-profitable units. Federal officials are currently discussing more aid for Citigroup, which has already collected $45 billion in bailout funds.
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