The Northern Trust Open was held at the Riviera Country Club in L.A. last weekend. Since Tiger Woods did not recuperate in time to participate, most of the general public really didn’t care too much about it.

(Bank uses bailout money to secure salmon & Sheryl Crow?)

However, most of the general public should care to know that Northern Trust, the bank that sponsored the golf tourney, recently received $1.6 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money. And you should be happy to know how Northern Trust has been managing their financial situation - by flying hundreds of clients & employees to L.A. and hosting expensive parties.

In addition to spending big bucks on tourney sponsorship, Northern Trust also paid to put people up in high-priced hotels, while organizing private concerts featuring some expensive acts.

TMZ has the rundown of the wild, wasteful weekend:

- Wednesday, Northern Trust hosted a fancy dinner at the Ritz followed by a performance by the group Chicago.

- Thursday, Northern Trust rented a private hangar at the Santa Monica Airport for dinner, followed by a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire.

- Saturday, Northern Trust had the entire House of Blues in West Hollywood shut down for its private party. We got the menu — guests dined on seared salmon and petite Angus filet. Dinner was followed by a performance by none other than Sheryl Crow.

There was also a fabulous cocktail party at the Loews. And how’s this for a nice touch: Female guests at the Chicago concert all got trinkets from … TIFFANY AND CO.

Your tax dollars at work, ladies & gentlemen. Of course, not everyone got to enjoy a trip out to the L.A. links on the company’s dime - such as the 450 workers Northern Trust laid off in December.

And some members of Congress, such as Senator John Kerry and Rep. Barney Frank, are quite peeved about the bank’s bacchanalian weekend. Kerry wants to introduce legislation that will put an end to “extravagant spending practices of U.S. banks,” while Frank wants the $1.6 billion back.

However, Northern Trust says not so fast. The bank claims the government gave them the money even though they didn’t request it. Besides, spending $50,000 to rent out the House of Blues is good for business:

The bank responded to TMZ’s claims by arguing that the Northern Trust Open is “an integral part of Northern Trust’s global marketing activities, focusing on retaining and growing business with existing clients and attracting new clients.”

But the bad publicity of staging such extravagant events with money picked from the pockets of John Q. Public can’t be good for any kind of business. Maybe another government bailout will help.