NEW YORK — The Citigroup Inc. chief executive who took a $1 salary after the company needed a bailout has been awarded a multi-year bonus package that could be worth nearly $23.4 million if a series of performance goals are met.
The so-called retention award for CEO Vikram Pandit is designed with a mix of short-, medium- and long-term goals aimed to benefit Citigroup and its shareholders, the New York financial giant said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. It noted that the ultimate payout to Pandit will depend on achieving the goals set by Citigroup’s board.
“Vikram has done an outstanding job since coming on board as the financial crisis began,” Richard Parsons, chairman of Citigroup’s board, said in a statement. “Under his leadership, the management team has navigated Citi through the crisis, returned Citi to profitability and is executing a strategy for sustainable growth.”
Citigroup was one of the hardest-hit banks in the 2008 financial crisis and needed $45 billion in taxpayer aid, which it has repaid.
Pandit, who took over as CEO in December 2007, pledged in February 2009 not to take a salary until the bank turned a profit. He received a salary of $1 and no bonus or stock awards last year.
After Citigroup posted its 2010 results, which showed its first full year of profits since the crisis, it raised his base salary to $1.75 million for 2011.
The first part of the retention award was made in deferred stock, which was valued at $10 million Tuesday, the day it was granted.
