Wells Fargo Defends, Then Cancels Vegas Junket

It's a tradition for Wells Fargo & Co. to reward top employees with a lavish junket. In previous years, though, the company hadn't just received a $25 billion bailout from taxpayers.

The Wynn Las Vegas, right, and its sister hotel, Encore Las Vegas, are seen in Las Vegas, Tuesday,...

The Wynn Las Vegas, right, and its sister hotel, Encore Las Vegas, are seen in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009. Wells Fargo & Co., which received $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money, is planning a series of corporate outings to Las Vegas casinos this month. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

(AP)

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Wells Fargo had booked 12 nights, beginning Friday, at the Wynn Las Vegas and the Encore Las Vegas.

"Let's get this straight: These guys are going to Vegas to roll the dice on the taxpayer dime?" said Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican who sits on the House Financial Services Committee. "They're tone-deaf. It's outrageous."

The company initially defended the trip. But within hours, investigators and lawmakers on Capitol Hill had scorned the bank, and the company canceled.

Previous all-expense-paid trips for Wells Fargo 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.

"In light of the current environment, we have now decided to cancel this event as well," the company said Tuesday night in a news release that also said it had never planned to use taxpayer bailout money for the trip.

Corporate retreats have attracted criticism since the bank bailout last fall. Congress scolded insurance giant American International Group Inc. for spending $440,000 on spa treatments for executives just days after the company took $85 billion from taxpayers. AIG has since canceled all such outings.

Because of the bailout and the recession, other banks have canceled employee outings. Morgan Stanley informed employees Monday that an appreciation trip to Monte Carlo was off.

Initially, Wells Fargo indicated it had no plans to cancel.

"Recognition events are still part of our culture," spokeswoman Melissa Murray said Tuesday afternoon. "It's really important that our team members are still valued and recognized."

In previous years, top Wells Fargo loan officers were treated to performances by Cher, Jay Leno and Huey Lewis. One year, the company provided fortune tellers and offered camel rides, said Debra Rickard, a former Wells Fargo mortgage employee from Colorado who attended the events regularly until she left the company in 2004.