By now, you've probably heard of the alleged improprieties concerning CNBC news anchor Maria Bartiromo's use of the Citigroup (NYSE: C) corporate jet, and Citigroup's sponsorship of a Sundance Channel show Bartiromo was originally slated to host.
Such antics would never have occurred, had Ms. Bartiromo worked for The Motley Fool.
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Financial institutions are chock-full of compliance officers tasked to ensure that employees adhere to legal and corporate guidelines. Even so, they cannot control each individual's actions, nor impart common sense upon those who seem to lack it.
So what happened with Mariagate? Citibank ultimately fired Todd Thomson, the executive at the center of the storm. Although concerns regarding Mr. Thomson's judgment, spending habits, and cozy relationship with Ms. Bartiromo had reportedly raised eyebrows at Citibank for some time, CEO Charles Prince declined to cite reasons for the dismissal, which occurred during a corporate reshuffling resulting from the company's disappointing performance.
CNBC, a division of General Electric (NYSE: GE), has avoided discussion of the topic on air. The network has also backed their star anchor by saying that they paid Citibank for a specific flight in question, and citing Bartiromo's tireless work on behalf of the network. At the very least, CNBC would have appeared more reliable had it aired a discussion of the matter as a forum on responsible financial journalism.
One last thing: Does anyone else find it dismaying that Ms. Bartiromo is attempting to trademark her "Money Honey" moniker for potential licensing on items ranging from cookie jars to jigsaw puzzles? She earned her place in the male-dominated world of Wall Street years ago through hard work and skillful reporting. Licensing a nickname like "Money Honey" doesn't seem to dignify the role that Bartiromo or other intelligent women in the financial industry deserve.
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Fool contributor S.J. Caplan, a former vice president and assistant general counsel of Goldman Sachs and former vice president and derivative finance specialist at Lehman Brothers, does not own shares of the companies mentioned in this article. See, we told you we have a disclosure policy.
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