Citi raises minimum wage to US$15 per hour

[NEW YORK] Citigroup Inc raised its minimum wage to US$15 per hour earlier this year following pressure from politicians and similar moves by other big banks.

Data released by US Representative Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, shows that Citi raised its minimum wage in June following a request by the congresswoman for the third largest bank by assets to commit to increasing the minimum wage to US$20 per hour.

Lawmakers grilled Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat in April over the disparity between executive pay and compensation for the median worker at Citi. Of the top banks, Citi had the largest pay gap with the Corbat earning 486 times the amount of the median worker.

In February, Citi said Corbat would get a 4.35 per cent raise, bringing his total compensation for 2018 to $24 million: a base salary of US$1.5 million plus cash bonuses of about US$6.75 million, equity awards of nearly US$7.88 million, and a long-term performance based pay worth US$7.88 million.

A number of banks raised their minimum wage after receiving large tax cuts following the enactment of the President Donald Trump's corporate tax cuts. JPMorgan Chase & Co raised its minimum wage to US$15 and US$18 per hour depending on the local cost of living, Wells Fargo & Co raised its minimum wage to US$15 per hour and Bank of America Corp has pledged to raise its minimum wage to US$20 by 2021. 

REUTERS