Earlier this week, we reported that an organization representing corporate jet users has gone to court to block the release of records that would show which companies had asked the Federal Aviation Administration to excise their planes' tail numbers from records tracking private flights. Well, the Wall Street Journal this morning shows why CEOs might not want the public to know where they've been jetting.

At least 14 banks that received TARP funds have corporate jets, the Journal reports. Current and former execs at six of those banks have used those planes to fly to a variety of desirable locales -- ranging from a luxury resort in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to Aspen to Scotland -- since the banks received bailout funds. It's not clear if the Journal obtained this information from public records or by other means.

In one case, the CEO of PNC Financial Services used the bank's jet to go on a weekend trip to Florida the same day that PNC announced it would be receiving $7.6 billion in taxpayer funds. PNC told the Journal that the bank requires its execs to use the jet for all travel, and since it received the bailout money, its execs have reimbursed the bank for all personal travel.

Other links this morning:
Lawmakers Balk As Administration Tries to Redefine Central Bank's Role (WaPo)
Congress Carves into Obama Financial Rule Reforms (Reuters)
Fed's Balance Sheet Expands Slightly (WSJ)
Timing of Treasury Department Challenge, AIG Probe Raises Concerns (LAT)
'Too Big to Fail' Doctrine Must End: FDIC's Bair (CNBC)
Corporate Lenders Get Hit (WSJ)
Regulatory Reform That Falls Far Short of It (WaPo)

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