In Lieu of Bonuses, Citi Gives I-Bankers 50% Raises

Citigroup will raise salaries for investment bankers and traders as much as 50% to offset a steep falloff in bonus pay and keep the company’s compensation package competitive, Bloomberg reports. Other employees, like those in the consumer banking section, will receive smaller raises. Citi, which took $45 billion in federal bailout funds, also plans to offer its employees stock options to keep them on.

Citi says the move is just reorganization. “Any salary adjustments are not intended to increase total annual compensation, rather to adjust the balance between fixed and variable compensation,” a spokesman said. A union with pension money invested at Citi urged the bank not to raise salaries and “refine your compensation approach to reward executives for long-term value creation, not just showing up for work.” (More Citigroup stories.)