Citigroup makes last-minute cut in year-end bonuses for traders

[NEW YORK] Citigroup Inc this week cut its bonus pool for fixed-income and equity market traders after market revenues plunged during the last two weeks of the year, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Bonuses will be down about 5 to 10 per cent from a year earlier, the person said. As of mid-December, they had been expected to hold steady with the past year.

The change is the result of declines across the trading businesses in the last half of the month, the person said.

On Dec. 9, CEO Mike Corbat said he expected market revenues to be down about 5 percent from a year earlier.

The change in bonuses was announced internally on Wednesday by Citigroup co-president James Forese to trading executives and was reported on Friday afternoon by the Wall Street Journal.

REUTERS