Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit receives $128,000 in 2009 compensation, down from $38.2M in 2008

Citigroup CEO Pandit earns $128,000 in 2009 pay

NEW YORK — Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit received $128,751 in compensation for 2009 as the bank suffered huge losses on risky investments and failing consumer loans, according to an Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing disclosed Friday.

Pandit agreed in February 2009 that he would only take a $1 salary for the year after the bank was forced to take billions in federal bailout money. But he had already received $125,000 in salary before making that announcement, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He received no bonus or stock awards.

His only other compensation was $3,750 in 401(k) benefits.

Pandit’s 2008 compensation package was valued at $38.2 million. However, almost all of that package was made up of restricted stock and stock options that are worth far less today.

Citigroup’s shares rose a penny to close at $3.40 on Friday.

New York-based Citigroup was the hardest hit of the big U.S. banks during the credit crisis that peaked in late 2008 and early 2009, and received $45 billion in government bailout money. It raised $20 billion in December to help repay the money it received as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The remaining $25 billion was converted to stock last fall.

By repaying the bailout money, Citigroup is now free of salary caps for top executives set by the Obama administration’s pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg.

Citigroup Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach received $5.01 million in 2009 compensation, while the head of the bank’s client group, John Havens, received $11.2 million, according to the filing.

Earlier Friday, Bank of America disclosed that former CEO Ken Lewis received a compensation package valued at $32,171 in 2009 as the bank struggled with loan losses and repaid billions in federal bailout money, according to an Associated Press analysis of its regulatory filing.

However, Lewis’ accumulated compensation and retirement benefits totaled $73 million, according to a preliminary filing disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, Lewis’ beneficiary will receive $10.3 million life insurance payment upon the death of Lewis and his wife.

The AP’s executive pay calculation aims to isolate the value the company’s board placed on the CEO’s total compensation package. The figure includes salary, bonus, incentives, perks and the estimated value of stock options and awards.

The calculations don’t include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive’s compensation in the previous fiscal year.