Pandit says $100m is too much for a banker
Citigroup chief executive Vikram Pandit said $100m (€68.1m) in annual compensation is too much for any bank employee to get.
Pandit's comment came in response to a question on Thursday night at the 92nd Street Y in New York that was a reference to Andrew Hall, the star Citigroup commodities trader who received $98.9m in 2008.
Hall's compensation has become a political minefield for Citigroup, and Pandit said the company is "in the process of" restructuring Phibro LLC, the trading operation led by Hall.
Citigroup is considering a spin-off of Phibro so that the trader no longer is subject to pay restrictions and government scrutiny triggered by taxpayer-funded aid, according to people familiar with the situation.
While Citigroup employees need to be paid competitively, Pandit said, he answered "Yes" when asked if $100m in annual compensation is excessive.
The response elicited murmurs from the audience, which included Citigroup employees.
In its submission to the Obama administration's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, Citigroup said that Hall's contract is exempt from Feinberg's jurisdiction because it was signed prior to a deadline specified by Congress.
If Feinberg agrees, he is expected to push the bank to try to renegotiate the contract with Hall.
-- Write to David Enrich at david.enrich@wsj.com and Matthias Rieker at matthias.rieker@dowjones.com -- This article can be viewed at http://europe.wsj.com/
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