Reply #12: Morgan Stanley cancels events at golf tournament

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Morgan Stanley cancels events at golf tournament

By STEPHEN BERNARD, AP Business Writer Stephen Bernard, Ap Business Writer – Wed Feb 25, 5:04 pm ET

NEW YORK – Morgan Stanley said Wednesday it would eliminate events for entertaining clients that had been scheduled to run in conjunction with a professional golf tournament it sponsors in June.

Morgan Stanley's announcement comes a day after protests erupted in Congress over parties and concerts hosted by Northern Trust Corp. at a golf tournament it sponsored last week. Other banks that received bailout funds from the government have also come under fire recently for spending money on lavish events.

Morgan Stanley, which received $10 billion in bailout funds, will still be the main sponsor for the Memorial Tournament but will have little other presence at the tournament. It is the ninth year the bank has sponsored the tournament, which takes places in Dublin, Ohio in June.

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Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday pressed Northern Trust to return the money spent on the events, and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., proposed legislation restricting banks that received government funds from hosting, sponsoring or paying for conferences or entertainment events. The legislation would require a company's chief executive to reimburse the government for the cost of any events hosted and pay a $100,000 fine.

Two other banks that received government funds are title sponsors of PGA tournaments later in the year — Wachovia Corp., which is now owned by Wells Fargo & Co., and U.S. Bancorp. Wells Fargo received $25 billion as part of the program, while U.S. Bancorp received about $6.6 billion.

The Wachovia Championship is scheduled to begin April 30 and run through May 3 in Charlotte, N.C., while the U.S. Bank Championship will be played in Milwaukee from July 16 through July 19.

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