NatalieLopez
19 Mar 25
Citigroup Inc. implemented a three-year special bonus program tying executive compensation to the bank's performance on risk and regulatory matters. The "Transformation Bonus Program" paid out 68% of the 2024 target to around 250 senior employees, down from 94% in 2022 and 80% in 2023. The final pay...
Citigroup Inc. implemented a three-year special bonus program that linked executive compensation to the bank's progress on risk and regulatory matters. The "Transformation Bonus Program" paid out 68% of the 2024 target to about 250 senior employees, compared to 94% in 2022 and 80% in 2023. These payouts were designed to align managers' compensation with Citigroup's efforts to improve risk and controls, meeting regulators' demands and internal audit milestones.
The final installment of the program included a boost from Citigroup's share performance, without which the "performance achievement percentage" set by the board's compensation committee was only 53%. Citigroup has invested heavily in revamping its back office, a historically weak area for the bank. Despite progress in addressing consent orders, the bank faced scrutiny for slow improvement in data-quality management and recent reports of botched account transfers.
Citigroup remains under consent orders from the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason declined his 2024 transformation bonus, and an anonymous group of former employees criticized the bonus program, with the bank emphasizing that it was making tough decisions for further progress.
CEO Jane Fraser, who received a 33% increase in total annual compensation, the largest among the CEOs of the six largest US banks, was not eligible for the transformation award. The final tranche of bonuses was tied to the average share price over a five-day period ended Feb. 19. Citigroup's stock slumped 16% since that period amid global equities volatility.