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You pay £11.5bn to bail out HBOS and this is how they say thanks
IN THE BANK: Patrick Kielty charges up to £20k a show
WHERE'S THE FREE BAR? Bankers hit plush Prestonfield Hotel
REVELS BY STARLIGHT: Guests sup at champagne reception
EAT TILL YOU'RE BUSSED: Fleet of coaches ferried guests to the big bash
By Nicola Stow, 08/11/2008
GREEDY HBOS bankers being bailed out with £11.5 BILLION from hard-pressed taxpayers are today exposed REVELLING on a boozy £330,000 junket and LAUGHING at customers facing repossession.
The News of the World caught 302 Halifax/Bank of Scotland mortgage staff and 68 guests lapping up the five-star freebie while cash-strapped families deal with disaster.
The heartless money men and women just downed champagne and GIGGLED as star TV comedian PATRICK KIELTY—who charges £20,000 a show—poked fun at their shameful excesses in the midst of Britain’s credit crisis, vowing: “Your secret is safe with me!”
Last night an HBOS whistleblower told the News of the World: “There was absolutely no expense spared. We had the best of everything—great food, expensive wine, you name it. It’s outrageous really, considering all the recent troubles at HBOS. We all had a good time though. We even got a day off work—AND got paid for it.”
Today we reveal the cost of this week’s jolly as HBOS, set to be taken over in a government-sanctioned multi- billion deal with LloydsTSB, ran up the gigantic bill including:
The all-expenses-paid weekend trip— known as the Annual Star Gala—started on Friday morning as HBOS staff arrived in Edinburgh from all corners of its empire including Belfast, Leeds and Sheffield. At the same time their bosses, along with other banks’ bigwigs, were getting a dressing-down from Chancellor Alistair Darling over their failure to pass on Thursday’s Bank of England 1.5 per cent cut in interest rates.
By the time the party crowd were checking into the city’s top three hotels —The Balmoral, The Caledonian Hilton and The George—the men in suits had caved in to government demands.
Fancy
Lucky HBOS staff who landed bookings at The Balmoral—where the rooms start at £215 per night and are favoured by celebrities such as George Clooney and Tom Hanks—were soon splashing about in the swimming pool.
Others took full advantage of the plush Finnish sauna, Turkish steam room and beauty treatments before their big night on the tiles.
It was a similar story at The Caledonian—a favoured haunt of Sean Connery and former PM Tony Blair. But some guests billeted at the four-star George—where rooms are £180 a night— felt hard done by. Our insider told us: “They were moaning and felt they were missing out. I wouldn’t mind, but some of them actually LIVE in the city and didn’t even need rooms really.”
At lunchtime the bankers enjoyed a feast of smoked salmon, foie gras pate and champagne. Goodie bags left in their rooms contained Moet & Chandon bubbly, leather-bound journals, chocolates and £10 Starbucks vouchers.
Then it was time for the main event—and on Friday evening they were all taken by coach to the Prestonfield Hotel for their gala dinner.
A lucky dozen guests were already there, booked into rooms costing £250 a night. But a News of the World team was there too for the opening reception as guests—men in tuxedos or kilts, women in cocktail dresses—enjoyed bottles of expensive champagne with fancy smoked salmon and quail egg canapés.
They then sat down for dinner. Tables seating 10 were decorated with orchids and napkins crafted into swans. And on each one waiters placed FOUR bottles of wine and TWELVE bottles of beer. Pumpkin soup was followed by roast chicken then profiteroles with chocolate sauce and cream. Our insider told us: “It was like a Roman feast— with enough booze to float a ship.
Tipsy
“They like to get you absolutely plastered at these events. On top of that they gave us drink vouchers so we could hammer the free bar!”
When Irish comic Kielty took the stage he tore into a string of ‘gags’ about the credit crunch and hard-up customers losing their homes. And the mortgage pushers roared with laughter.
As the disco took over, tipsy revellers staggered about splashing free drink on the dance floor—some kicking off their £300 Christian Louboutin high heels to dance around expensive handbags. The night ended at 1am when guests were ferried back to their hotels by coach. Our informant added: “Many people were the worse for wear by then. One woman couldn’t find her shoes, another had to be carried on the bus.
“The whole do obviously cost a fortune and the bank really did go to town. But some of us think it’s taking the mickey in the current climate, a slap in the face for taxpayers. HBOS couldn’t have chosen a worse time.”
Last night a spokeswoman for the bank insisted: “It was a modest affair, an event we hold every year to reward our star performers.” Pressed on the cost, she said: “It was a modest amount.”
In a later statement HBOS said the bash was booked and paid for last year, and they did not know the content of Kielty’s act in advance.
But a source close to Chancellor Alistair Darling said last night said: “He’ll be absolutely astonished they were spending so much money."
source: Crisis.. what crisis? | You pay 11.5bn to bail out HBOS and this is how they say thanks | News | News Of The World
I will be back with some other comments. As you can imagine there is a lot of irrational comments on this.
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To all who say that "we should withdraw our money from this bank and let it burn / stuff the employees and I hope they lose their jobs, etc" I call you cowards.
Do not forget that the majority of staff are not highly paid, do not make huge decisions and are in fact either backroom office staff that keep servers and systems operational or are the people that meet and greet when you walk sullen-faced into a branch and have to grin and bear when you complain, moan and gripe at them.
For shame!
By Anonymous Employee. Posted November 9 2008 at 3:53 PM.
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Good luck to those HBOS staff enjoying that trip.
These guys have worked their guts out over the past 12 months to impossible targets and customers being abusive over the credit crunch.
And to top it all off, about 20,000 will end up in the dole queue when the Lloyds merger goes ahead.
Those individuals in financial difficulty just now due to credit issues - they seemed to have no problems spending their credit cards and loans etc - they need to pay it back sometime !
Britiains nanny culture, blame someone else, no individual ever takes responsibility for their own actions...
By Get a grip. Posted November 9 2008 at 3:19 PM.
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Being a HBOS staff member I too am disgusted at the amount spent on the 'bash'. However, this is just the start of it! The annual mortgage conference, financial advisors conference and not to forget the managers conference (charted flights the lot!) All expenses paid usually at the NEC in Birmingham - only place big enough to hold the event!
Many employees have complained about this but have been told they must attend!
All I ask is remember when you go in a branch tomorrow it is not the girl on the tills fault she is on £12k not going to any party & faces losing her job!
All because of Andy Hornby who is being rewarded for destroying a once great company.
Alistair Darling should be stepping in putting a stop to these functions and punishing those at the top.
Also one other point if everybody pulled their savings as advised by some small minded people the amount of tax HBOS pays as a company keeps over 400,000 teachers in employment - would you be happy to see those jobs go to?
By get a grip. Posted November 9 2008 at 3:05 PM.
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fair play to them. I think the media are forgetting banks are businesses, not charities, and like all good businesses they reward their highest performing members of staff. When business takes a downturn the bosses need to make a decision do they still look to reward the best customer service guys and try to boost morale, or cancel the event leading to a dip in staff morale. This event was for the guys on the front line who take the abuse from customers and still deliver great service for these people who phone needing help, not for the fat cat bosses of HBOS. I bet the reporters at news of the world have the very same thing.
By Mark. Posted November 9 2008 at 12:27 AM.
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gain, ridiculous comments, aimed at banks by people who have forgotten how to be responsible for their own money! Let's give you this scenario, put the banks out of business, keep your money in a jar under the stairs then get burgled? Sound good, all that lost? At least you have £50,000 protection with banks. MAKE MY DAY seems to be missing the point, this party apparently was paid for a year ago. If the party had been cancelled, the money would still have been lost as there would not have been a refund. I like how those people who call banks scum, thieves, moronic etc... have not one iota of intelligence. If they did they would realise that there are possibly 30-50 executives working per bank, the rest of the 50-200,000 people employed by the bank are just like themselves. Why start spouting ridiculous insults and hurtful remarks at these people because they are employed by a bank? Honestly, to quote Thomas below "GREAT Britain!" We've forgotten how to be responsible for our own actions and vent anger at others for our own mistakes. I've been charged before, and guess what, like millions of other people, it was my fault. Did I complain? No, because I knew I was the one foolish enough to forget how much I actually had in my account. Again, grow up people, I am growing tired of your petty insolent childish remarks!
By Chubb Chubb. Posted November 9 2008 at 6:45 AM.
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Like the posters of some of the other comments on this board, I too am a HBOS employee. To all those making remarks about us all losing our jobs: remember, it won't be the high paid, high level staff who face the wall, it will be the lowly admin staff such as myself who can't afford to pay the rent as it is. We're the ones who work hard every day to make sure your transactions go through and, trust me, we never get a sniff of the champagne.
Lovely sentiments by the way by some people on this board- I hope Jo and Make My Day never have to face the prospect of redundancy.
By Lisa. Posted November 9 2008 at 8:11 AM
I think you can imagine the comments of, "I hope you lose your job next year", "Scum bankers" etc,etc,
IN THE BANK: Patrick Kielty charges up to £20k a show
WHERE'S THE FREE BAR? Bankers hit plush Prestonfield Hotel
REVELS BY STARLIGHT: Guests sup at champagne reception
EAT TILL YOU'RE BUSSED: Fleet of coaches ferried guests to the big bash
By Nicola Stow, 08/11/2008
GREEDY HBOS bankers being bailed out with £11.5 BILLION from hard-pressed taxpayers are today exposed REVELLING on a boozy £330,000 junket and LAUGHING at customers facing repossession.
The News of the World caught 302 Halifax/Bank of Scotland mortgage staff and 68 guests lapping up the five-star freebie while cash-strapped families deal with disaster.
The heartless money men and women just downed champagne and GIGGLED as star TV comedian PATRICK KIELTY—who charges £20,000 a show—poked fun at their shameful excesses in the midst of Britain’s credit crisis, vowing: “Your secret is safe with me!”
Last night an HBOS whistleblower told the News of the World: “There was absolutely no expense spared. We had the best of everything—great food, expensive wine, you name it. It’s outrageous really, considering all the recent troubles at HBOS. We all had a good time though. We even got a day off work—AND got paid for it.”
Today we reveal the cost of this week’s jolly as HBOS, set to be taken over in a government-sanctioned multi- billion deal with LloydsTSB, ran up the gigantic bill including:
- OPULENT hotel rooms totalling £60,000.
- CHAMPAGNE reception at £4,000.
- LAVISH £200-a-head four-course meals with yet more booze.
- TRAVEL expenses costing £45,000.
- LUXURY £100 goodie bags for every guest and,
- PRIZES of £1,000 to reward the work of 16 mortgage brokers over a year that’s left most of Britain struggling.
The all-expenses-paid weekend trip— known as the Annual Star Gala—started on Friday morning as HBOS staff arrived in Edinburgh from all corners of its empire including Belfast, Leeds and Sheffield. At the same time their bosses, along with other banks’ bigwigs, were getting a dressing-down from Chancellor Alistair Darling over their failure to pass on Thursday’s Bank of England 1.5 per cent cut in interest rates.
By the time the party crowd were checking into the city’s top three hotels —The Balmoral, The Caledonian Hilton and The George—the men in suits had caved in to government demands.
Fancy
Lucky HBOS staff who landed bookings at The Balmoral—where the rooms start at £215 per night and are favoured by celebrities such as George Clooney and Tom Hanks—were soon splashing about in the swimming pool.
Others took full advantage of the plush Finnish sauna, Turkish steam room and beauty treatments before their big night on the tiles.
It was a similar story at The Caledonian—a favoured haunt of Sean Connery and former PM Tony Blair. But some guests billeted at the four-star George—where rooms are £180 a night— felt hard done by. Our insider told us: “They were moaning and felt they were missing out. I wouldn’t mind, but some of them actually LIVE in the city and didn’t even need rooms really.”
At lunchtime the bankers enjoyed a feast of smoked salmon, foie gras pate and champagne. Goodie bags left in their rooms contained Moet & Chandon bubbly, leather-bound journals, chocolates and £10 Starbucks vouchers.
Then it was time for the main event—and on Friday evening they were all taken by coach to the Prestonfield Hotel for their gala dinner.
A lucky dozen guests were already there, booked into rooms costing £250 a night. But a News of the World team was there too for the opening reception as guests—men in tuxedos or kilts, women in cocktail dresses—enjoyed bottles of expensive champagne with fancy smoked salmon and quail egg canapés.
They then sat down for dinner. Tables seating 10 were decorated with orchids and napkins crafted into swans. And on each one waiters placed FOUR bottles of wine and TWELVE bottles of beer. Pumpkin soup was followed by roast chicken then profiteroles with chocolate sauce and cream. Our insider told us: “It was like a Roman feast— with enough booze to float a ship.
Tipsy
“They like to get you absolutely plastered at these events. On top of that they gave us drink vouchers so we could hammer the free bar!”
When Irish comic Kielty took the stage he tore into a string of ‘gags’ about the credit crunch and hard-up customers losing their homes. And the mortgage pushers roared with laughter.
As the disco took over, tipsy revellers staggered about splashing free drink on the dance floor—some kicking off their £300 Christian Louboutin high heels to dance around expensive handbags. The night ended at 1am when guests were ferried back to their hotels by coach. Our informant added: “Many people were the worse for wear by then. One woman couldn’t find her shoes, another had to be carried on the bus.
“The whole do obviously cost a fortune and the bank really did go to town. But some of us think it’s taking the mickey in the current climate, a slap in the face for taxpayers. HBOS couldn’t have chosen a worse time.”
Last night a spokeswoman for the bank insisted: “It was a modest affair, an event we hold every year to reward our star performers.” Pressed on the cost, she said: “It was a modest amount.”
In a later statement HBOS said the bash was booked and paid for last year, and they did not know the content of Kielty’s act in advance.
But a source close to Chancellor Alistair Darling said last night said: “He’ll be absolutely astonished they were spending so much money."
source: Crisis.. what crisis? | You pay 11.5bn to bail out HBOS and this is how they say thanks | News | News Of The World
I will be back with some other comments. As you can imagine there is a lot of irrational comments on this.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
To all who say that "we should withdraw our money from this bank and let it burn / stuff the employees and I hope they lose their jobs, etc" I call you cowards.
Do not forget that the majority of staff are not highly paid, do not make huge decisions and are in fact either backroom office staff that keep servers and systems operational or are the people that meet and greet when you walk sullen-faced into a branch and have to grin and bear when you complain, moan and gripe at them.
For shame!
By Anonymous Employee. Posted November 9 2008 at 3:53 PM.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Good luck to those HBOS staff enjoying that trip.
These guys have worked their guts out over the past 12 months to impossible targets and customers being abusive over the credit crunch.
And to top it all off, about 20,000 will end up in the dole queue when the Lloyds merger goes ahead.
Those individuals in financial difficulty just now due to credit issues - they seemed to have no problems spending their credit cards and loans etc - they need to pay it back sometime !
Britiains nanny culture, blame someone else, no individual ever takes responsibility for their own actions...
By Get a grip. Posted November 9 2008 at 3:19 PM.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Being a HBOS staff member I too am disgusted at the amount spent on the 'bash'. However, this is just the start of it! The annual mortgage conference, financial advisors conference and not to forget the managers conference (charted flights the lot!) All expenses paid usually at the NEC in Birmingham - only place big enough to hold the event!
Many employees have complained about this but have been told they must attend!
All I ask is remember when you go in a branch tomorrow it is not the girl on the tills fault she is on £12k not going to any party & faces losing her job!
All because of Andy Hornby who is being rewarded for destroying a once great company.
Alistair Darling should be stepping in putting a stop to these functions and punishing those at the top.
Also one other point if everybody pulled their savings as advised by some small minded people the amount of tax HBOS pays as a company keeps over 400,000 teachers in employment - would you be happy to see those jobs go to?
By get a grip. Posted November 9 2008 at 3:05 PM.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
fair play to them. I think the media are forgetting banks are businesses, not charities, and like all good businesses they reward their highest performing members of staff. When business takes a downturn the bosses need to make a decision do they still look to reward the best customer service guys and try to boost morale, or cancel the event leading to a dip in staff morale. This event was for the guys on the front line who take the abuse from customers and still deliver great service for these people who phone needing help, not for the fat cat bosses of HBOS. I bet the reporters at news of the world have the very same thing.
By Mark. Posted November 9 2008 at 12:27 AM.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
gain, ridiculous comments, aimed at banks by people who have forgotten how to be responsible for their own money! Let's give you this scenario, put the banks out of business, keep your money in a jar under the stairs then get burgled? Sound good, all that lost? At least you have £50,000 protection with banks. MAKE MY DAY seems to be missing the point, this party apparently was paid for a year ago. If the party had been cancelled, the money would still have been lost as there would not have been a refund. I like how those people who call banks scum, thieves, moronic etc... have not one iota of intelligence. If they did they would realise that there are possibly 30-50 executives working per bank, the rest of the 50-200,000 people employed by the bank are just like themselves. Why start spouting ridiculous insults and hurtful remarks at these people because they are employed by a bank? Honestly, to quote Thomas below "GREAT Britain!" We've forgotten how to be responsible for our own actions and vent anger at others for our own mistakes. I've been charged before, and guess what, like millions of other people, it was my fault. Did I complain? No, because I knew I was the one foolish enough to forget how much I actually had in my account. Again, grow up people, I am growing tired of your petty insolent childish remarks!
By Chubb Chubb. Posted November 9 2008 at 6:45 AM.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Like the posters of some of the other comments on this board, I too am a HBOS employee. To all those making remarks about us all losing our jobs: remember, it won't be the high paid, high level staff who face the wall, it will be the lowly admin staff such as myself who can't afford to pay the rent as it is. We're the ones who work hard every day to make sure your transactions go through and, trust me, we never get a sniff of the champagne.
Lovely sentiments by the way by some people on this board- I hope Jo and Make My Day never have to face the prospect of redundancy.
By Lisa. Posted November 9 2008 at 8:11 AM
I think you can imagine the comments of, "I hope you lose your job next year", "Scum bankers" etc,etc,
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