Even the beleaguered Bob Rubin won't accept one. Meanwhile, Citi is the subject of a lawsuit -- which was actually filed last year, but was recently amended -- in what the NY Post describes as "a new Citigroup scandal engulfing Robert Rubin and his former disciple Chuck Prince"....
From the FT, on the Citi bonuses:
A person close to Mr Rubin, a former US Treasury secretary, said he had told the board that, under the circumstances and at this stage of his career, he felt the funds that would have been used for his bonus could be better spent on other employees. Mr Rubin, who has earned more than $115m since joining Citi in 1999, also waived his bonus last year.
People close to the situation said last week’s government rescue made it almost impossible for Citi’s board to award cash bonuses to other senior executives, led by chief executive Vikram Pandit.
Separately, people familiar with the situation said Citi was making progress on a new compensation plan for top managers in its investment banking and securities division aimed at breaking down barriers among different units. Under the plan, first revealed by the Financial Times in October, a large portion of these bonuses will depend on how well they interact with colleagues during meetings of the division’s management committee.
Separately, Citi has been sued by investors alleging the company concealed the deteriorating health of its mortgage and derivative book and resold collateralised debt obligations to itself in order to hide its exposure to the derivatives. Citi said the lawsuit was “without merit”.
From the NY Post on the lawsuit:
Investor-plaintiffs in the suit accuse Citi management of overseeing the repackaging of unmarketable collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that no one wanted - and then reselling them to Citi and hiding the poisonous exposure off the books in shell entities.
The lawsuit said that when the bottom fell out of the shaky assets in the past year, Citi's stock collapsed, wiping out more than $122 billion of shareholder value.
However, Rubin and other top insiders were able to keep Citi shares afloat until they could cash out more than $150 million for themselves in "suspicious" stock sales "calculated to maximize the personal benefits from undisclosed inside information," the lawsuit said.
The latest troubles for Rubin, Prince and others emerged in a 500-page investigation by Citigroup investors represented by law firm Kirby McInerney.
The probe was used to amend and add new details to a blanket investor lawsuit filed against Citigroup a year ago. The amended suit called the actions of Citi leaders "a quasi-Ponzi scheme" to hide troubles - and keep Citi stock afloat while insiders unloaded about 3 million shares between Jan. 1, 2004 and Feb. 22, 2008 for huge profits..
Citigroup chiefs ready to waive bonuses - Financial Times
'Ponzi Scheme' At Citi - NY Post
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