Citigroup Awards Corbat $11.5M After Pandit Pay Rejection

Citigroup (NYSE:C) whose shareholders rejected its former leader's pay package, gave new Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat an $11.5 million compensation deal for 2012.

The payout for 2012 includes a $4.18 million cash bonus and $3.14 million of so-called performance share units, or PSUs, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. Citigroup introduced the PSUs as a part of executive compensation after discussions with almost 20 shareholders, the New York-based lender said.

Shareholders rejected former CEO Vikram Pandit's 2011 compensation plan last year amid complaints it was too easy for him to collect his $15 million package plus long-term incentives that could have been worth about $40 million. After promising to reconsider, the board ousted Pandit, 56, in October and promoted Corbat, 52.

"When our shareholders spoke last year about Citi's compensation structure, we listened," the bank's chairman, Michael O'Neill, who also heads Citigroup's compensation committee, said in the filing. "As a result of this process, we are introducing a new compensation structure that more strongly connects compensation with performance, emphasizes strong risk management and is both competitive and in line with regulatory standards."

Shannon Bell, a spokeswoman for Citigroup, declined to name the shareholders consulted on pay. O'Neill led discussions with the investors, who hold more than 30% of the bank's shares combined, according to the filing.

Corbat's 2012 package also includes a $1.05 million salary and $3.14 million of deferred stock, according to the filing. His pay for 2011 wasn't disclosed in last year's proxy statement. The bank gave Corbat $9 million for 2010, according to an earlier filing.

The new CEO plans to fire 11,000 workers and pull back from certain markets as he seeks to cut costs and increase returns for shareholders. The stock jumped 50% last year. He previously was CEO of the bank's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and head of the Citi Holdings unit.

"Mr. Corbat's 2012 pay was based on his substantial contributions in his CEO role for the region, his impact as a senior executive on Citi's overall performance and the immediate contributions he made upon assuming the Citi CEO role in October," according to the filling.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Consumer banking
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER