NFL's Model Is Better Bet Than Big Biz

(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. More»

Repricing plans toss lifeline to 'underwater' stock option holders

(NEWSER) - Major firms are trying to boost morale by giving workers another chance to profit on stock options made worthless by the stock market dive, the Washington Post reports. Many employees—especially execs—are currently stuck with "underwater" options with a strike price above the trading price. Close to 100 companies are working plans to reprice options. More»

Union proposal OK'd at annual meeting

(NEWSER) - Apple shareholders have approved a motion giving them some input into executive pay levels, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "I hope it will help me with my $1 a year salary," quipped CEO Steve Jobs after the vote at the company's annual meeting—though Jobs bags millions of dollars worth of stock options and other perks on top of his token salary. More»

Wells Fargo, Bank of America may have reason to worry

(NEWSER) - Now that shareholders have rejected Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit's $15 million pay package, all eyes are on Wells Fargo and Bank of America, both of which are holding their own "say on pay" votes in the coming weeks. The votes are required as part of post-financial crisis financial reform laws, and though negative votes have been cast before, Citigroup marks the first big bank to suffer one. "If it can happen at Citigroup it can happen anywhere, particularly at other big financial firms," an AFL-CIO director tells the Los Angeles Times . More»

Matt Taibbi says bankers are still overpaid

(NEWSER) - Matt Taibbi was incredulous when he read a recent New York piece in which Wall Street denizens whined that Dodd-Frank was limiting their bonuses. "I watch what I spend," one banker lamented, "but my girlfriend likes to eat good food," which adds up fast. "Quelle horreur!" Taibbi quips in Rolling Stone , before shredding the argument. Actually, bank compensation is falling because of the European debt crisis. Bankers he knows are saying things like, "If the ECB doesn't come up with a Greek bailout package, I'm going to have to sell my children for dog food." And at some banks (like Goldman Sachs), bonuses are actually up relative to earnings. More»