Citi raises CEO Corbat's pay by 27% in 2015

[NEW YORK] Citigroup Inc raised chief executive Michael Corbat's pay by an estimated 27 per cent in 2015, a year in which the bank's profit more than doubled.

Mr Corbat earned an estimated US$16.5 million in 2015, including deferred shares worth about US$4.5 million. He earned US$13 million in 2014.

Deferred stock makes up about 30 per cent of Mr Corbat's bonus pay under Citi's executive compensation plan, which was overhauled three years ago amid shareholder pressure.

Citi's net income more than doubled to US$17.2 billion in 2015, its highest since 2006, as Mr Corbat works through his plan to exit businesses where profits and prospects are not worthwhile.

Chief financial officer John Gerspach's total compensation for 2015 rose about 20 per cent to US$9 million, the disclosures indicate.

James Forese, chief executive of Citi's Institutional Clients Group, was paid US$16 million, up 18.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Citigroup joined two of Wall Street's marquee investment banks in raising its chief executive's pay for the year Bank of America Corp raised chief executive Brian Moynihan's pay by 23 per cent in 2015. JPMorgan & Co chief executive Jamie Dimon earned US$27 million in 2015, up 35 per cent from a year earlier.

However, two other banks cut the pay of their top bosses due to concerns of a global economic slowdown and falling oil prices.

Morgan Stanley cut chief executive James Gorman's overall pay by 7 per cent to US$21 million in 2015, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc counterpart Lloyd Blankfein's pay declined 4 per cent to US$23 million.

The payout for Mr Corbat and a few other executives can be estimated from regulatory filings made by the banks, and a pay formula that Citigroup has previously disclosed.

Citi, which recently slipped below Wells Fargo & Co to become the third-largest bank by assets in the United States, has turned to cost cuts to boost profits as low interest rates and regulations around capital requirements have dragged revenue growth.

Total expenses at the bank fell more than 20 per cent in 2015.

REUTERS