Bankers at Barclays have defied the worldwide financial meltdown by flying to Italy for a £500,000 three-day corporate trip to a five-star hotel on Lake Como.
By Alastair Jamieson
Last Updated: 3:53PM BST 09 Oct 2008
Eighty bankers are entertaining 100 clients and their partners at the 16th-century Villa D'Este in Cernobbio.
Although such corporate largesse is commonplace in the investment banking industry, the timing could not have been worse for Barclays – one of the eight banks that may take a share of the government's £500bn taxpayer-funded bailout.
The jaunt includes a banquet with fresh ravioli and beef fillet on the menu, plus fine wines costing hundreds of pounds per case. Guests will also be treated to an evening of music by Milan's La Scala opera house. The invitations alone are reported to have cost more than £3,000.
A spokeswoman for Barclays Wealth, the wealth management arm of Barclays, was unable to deny reports that the trip cost more than £500,000 but said cancelling the event would have been counter-productive. “It would not make sense for a bank to sit on the sidelines now that relations with investors are crucially important,” she said. “We are having a client conference in relation to financial planning and investment planning. These guys are doing their jobs, and their job is to advise their clients. You can’t just shut down.”
She said encouraging their richest clients to make investments would help boost liquidity in the market and oil the wheels of the financial system. She also said the trip was “not all expenses-paid” but was unable to say for what guests would have to pay.
The trip comes despite the tragic death last week of Barclays Wealth chief Frank McGarahan, 45, who was killed as he tried to stop thugs attacking a couple in Norwich.
It also follows a similar trip for 23 staff from Barclays Private Equity who enjoyed a sunshine break at a £1,800 a night hotel in the French Riviera.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3164203/Barclays-bankers-enjoy-500000-corporate-trip-amid-bank-bail-out.html
By Alastair Jamieson
Last Updated: 3:53PM BST 09 Oct 2008
Eighty bankers are entertaining 100 clients and their partners at the 16th-century Villa D'Este in Cernobbio.
Although such corporate largesse is commonplace in the investment banking industry, the timing could not have been worse for Barclays – one of the eight banks that may take a share of the government's £500bn taxpayer-funded bailout.
The jaunt includes a banquet with fresh ravioli and beef fillet on the menu, plus fine wines costing hundreds of pounds per case. Guests will also be treated to an evening of music by Milan's La Scala opera house. The invitations alone are reported to have cost more than £3,000.
A spokeswoman for Barclays Wealth, the wealth management arm of Barclays, was unable to deny reports that the trip cost more than £500,000 but said cancelling the event would have been counter-productive. “It would not make sense for a bank to sit on the sidelines now that relations with investors are crucially important,” she said. “We are having a client conference in relation to financial planning and investment planning. These guys are doing their jobs, and their job is to advise their clients. You can’t just shut down.”
She said encouraging their richest clients to make investments would help boost liquidity in the market and oil the wheels of the financial system. She also said the trip was “not all expenses-paid” but was unable to say for what guests would have to pay.
The trip comes despite the tragic death last week of Barclays Wealth chief Frank McGarahan, 45, who was killed as he tried to stop thugs attacking a couple in Norwich.
It also follows a similar trip for 23 staff from Barclays Private Equity who enjoyed a sunshine break at a £1,800 a night hotel in the French Riviera.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3164203/Barclays-bankers-enjoy-500000-corporate-trip-amid-bank-bail-out.html
