Bailed-Out Bank Execs Fly Corporate Jets to Resorts

Executives at bailed-out banks are still using company jets to fly to vacation homes and resorts, the Wall Street Journal reports. The newspaper reviewed FAA records to find that banks receiving federal aid have flown top execs to locales such as the Caribbean, Aspen, and Europe. Case in point: Less than 2 weeks after getting $3.5 billion in TARP funds, the chief of Regions Financial Corp. in Alabama used two bank jets to fly his family to a four-day vacation at a resort in West Virginia.

Bank of America received $15 billion in October and $30 billion in January; in November and December, company planes flew to Aspen and Savannah, Ga., where the bank’s CEO has a place. Morgan Stanley and PNC are among banks with similar stories. While the cost of such flights isn’t much compared to bailout receipts, other banks have stopped the practice after getting government cash.