Citi, Goldman and Morgan chiefs no-shows at White House meet

The chairman of Citigroup and chief executives of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley missed President Barack Obama’s meeting with top bank leaders on Monday because of what the White House called “inclement weather.”

However, 10 bank CEOs did manage to somehow best Mother Nature and make the meeting with their banker-bashing commander-in-chief, including J.P. Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, American Express’ Ken Chenault and Bank of New York Mellon’s Robert Kelly.

Goldman Sachs sent its general counsel instead of chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who was to be connected with the meeting via telephone, the White House said, in a statement. Morgan Stanley Chief Executive John Mack and Citi Chairman Richard Parsons were also slated to listen in by telephone because of flight problems.

There were no delays at La Guardia, John F. Kennedy or Newark Liberty airports as of midday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Web site. Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., was closed for part of Monday due to fog. The site Flightstats.com said there were “moderate” delays at Westchester County Airport, which is commonly used by Wall Street executives when they fly commercial, as the heads of the three banks who couldn’t get to Washington apparently intended to leave this morning.

For what it’s worth, a first-class seat from New York to Washington on the Delta or US Airways shuttle costs $509, while a first-class seat on the Acela costs an almost identical $510. Considering that Mr. Obama last night on television blasted Wall Street bankers as “fat cats,” it’d be understandable if the CEOs wanted to economize and fly rather than take the train, which, though it may be more reliable in bad weather, certainly means spending one dollar more.

This story first ran in Crain’s New York Business, a sister publication to Investment News.

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