Wisconsin’s second-largest bank is sending about 100 employees to a Puerto Rican resort next week, nearly three months after its parent company accepted more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer bailout money.
Top employees at Associated Bank have earned the trip, chief executive Paul Beideman said, particularly since the bank is profitable and only accepted bailout funds as a precaution, not as a result of mismanagement.
“How are our associates going to react to it if we willy-nilly cancel the trip because of some issues people are having with other companies,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Given the set of facts that we have, canceling the trip and disappointing these high performers really just wasn’t warranted.”
Beideman did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press. An Associated Bank spokeswoman did not immediately respond to telephone or e-mail messages seeking comment.
Associated Bank, based in Green Bay, plans to send its top workers to the El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Wednesday. (AP)
