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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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7

In Lieu of Bonuses, Citi Gives I-Bankers 50% Raises

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(Newser) – Citigroup will raise salaries for investment bankers and traders as much as 50% to offset a steep falloff in bonus pay and keep the company’s compensation package competitive, Bloomberg reports. Other employees, like those in the consumer banking section, will receive smaller raises. Citi, which took $45 billion in federal bailout funds, also plans to offer its employees stock options to keep them on.

Citi says the move is just reorganization. “Any salary adjustments are not intended to increase total annual compensation, rather to adjust the balance between fixed and variable compensation,” a spokesman said. A union with pension money invested at Citi urged the bank not to raise salaries and “refine your compensation approach to reward executives for long-term value creation, not just showing up for work.”

The Citigroup Center in New York.
The Citigroup Center in New York.   (AP Photo)
The Citigroup Building.
The Citigroup Building.   (AP Photo)
Citigroup headquarters in New York.
Citigroup headquarters in New York.   (AP Photo)
Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit.
Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit.   (AP Photo)
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7 comments
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lumina
Jun 24, 09 12:57 PM CDT
Here we go again!!! When is the President going to nail these bums?? Why is it that these jerks get away with impunity?? Reply
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NewserHound
Jun 24, 09 1:02 PM CDT
We should put these guys to work digging ditches for $8 an hour. Remove their credentials... this is ridiculous. Being the tax impact, these losers will actually make more money now than before. Reply
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SomebodyElse
Jun 24, 09 2:01 PM CDT
This is actually a good thing. Bonuses mean different things in investment banking than they do to the rest of us. In investment banking the bonus is an expected part of compensation which is normally as much or more than their yearly salary. By not giving out bonuses and raising the yearly salary, they are actually paying the bankers less. Plus, the bonuses reward high risk, high return strategies such as those that caused the current economic collapse, a more fixed salary will reward long term strategies that will help stabilize the economy. Reply
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ack
Jun 24, 09 2:10 PM CDT
I hope you're right, SE. I know there's a lot I don't know about how these folks work, so maybe this isn't as egregious as it seems. But they also have to consider the PR angle on this -- they're taking our money after all.
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lthurman
Jun 24, 09 5:45 PM CDT
That's the whole problem, ack, these folks don't work! Maybe if they had to and had to make up the difference their poor performance caused, they would be a little more careful with OPM (other people's money). The union had a good suggestion, but of course a union is just working people.
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