From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcarpetbaggercar‧pet‧bag‧ger /ˈkɑːpətˌbæɡə $ ˈkɑːrpɪtˌbæɡər/ noun [countable] 1 PPsomeone from the northern US who went to the southern US after the Civil War in order to make money, especially in a dishonest way2 someone who moves to a different place to try to be politically successful – used to show disapproval3 British English someone who opens an account at a building society because they think that the building society will soon become a bank, and then they will receive money or shares in the bank
Examples from the Corpus
carpetbagger• Neither Royal Liver nor any of the other friendly societies has taken any action so far to deter carpetbaggers.• The bad news for carpetbaggers is that Liverpool Victoria changed its membership criteria in June.From Longman Business Dictionarycarpetbaggercar‧pet‧bag‧ger /ˈkɑːpətˌbægəˈkɑːrpətˌbægər/ noun [countable] informal disapproving1British EnglishFINANCE an investor who puts their money into a LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY or a BUILDING SOCIETY, hoping that it will DEMUTUALIZE (=become a company with shares) and that they will get a WINDFALL (=money paid to members if they agree to the change)It has opened eight times the normal number of accounts, partly because of activity from carpetbaggers. —carpetbagging noun [uncountable]carpetbagging which brought record cash inflows2American English a politician who is active in an area that is not their home because they think they have more chance of being successful there than at homeSome branded them carpetbaggers for the long period they had spent in exile abroad. 