Citi Execs Ready to Forgo Bonuses: Report

Citigroup's(C) top executives, and Robert Rubin, a director and senior adviser, are ready to forgo their bonuses this year, the Financial Times reports.

A person close to Rubin, a former U.S Treasury secretary, said Rubin 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. Rubin has earned more than $115 million since joining Citigroup in 1999, He waived his bonus last year, the Financial Times reports.

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 CEO Vikram Pandit, the newspaper reports.

Under the deal with the government, the U.S. has to approve Citigroup's executive compensation plan, including bonuses and long-term awards. People familiar with the situation warned that no formal decision on bonuses would be taken until January but added that Citigroup executives had to make a significant gesture to defuse criticism from politicians and regulators, the Financial Times reports. Rising dissent among employees, many of whom face a job loss or lower bonuses, also has weighed on the bank's deliberations.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints