The Bonus Pool: Citigroup's (C) Pandit Comes To His Senses

Despite what executives at Goldman Sachs (GS) and several other large financial firms have done by agreeing to take no bonuses, there has been no such word out of Citigroup (C).

It looked like Citi CEO Vikram Pandit was going to engineer another PR disaster and bring shareholders and government regulators breathing down his neck.

Citi may have wised up, not because of Pandit, but due to a decision by disgraced board member Robert Rubin, infamous former Goldman CEO and ex-Treasury Secretary. Rubin has said in public that he had little to do with Citi’s problems, a "dog ate my homework" apologia that no on believes.

According to the FT, "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."

What is astonishing is that there was any chance that Pandit and his crew would get a cent for their job performance during 2008. That says more about the weakness of Citi’s board than almost anything. It should have made the "no bonus" decision and announcement weeks ago.

Douglas A. McIntyre