More on pay disadvantage at Citigroup

We've noted that the big banks that can't quickly shake their TARP burdens--Citigroup and Bank of America--face lots of issues, chief among them is the ability to attract to talent. CNNMoney notes the departure of Ajay Banga, CEO of Citigroup's Asia Pacific operations, for MasterCard and Bank of America's loss of top investment bankers and long-time Merrill Lynch veteran William Rifkin as evidence that they will have trouble retaining top talent.

The question for both banks is: What can we do? It will have to structure bonus and compensation packages that will pass through the new pay czar. My sense is that strong compensation packages will actually be possible. Citi is planning for them right now. No one wants to see either bank tank completely. You can offer big bonuses as long as they are well structured: Clawback provisions, long-term payouts, reasonable benchmarks. This may prove to be an over-hyped issue, despite Dick Parsons comment that people ought to work for Citigroup out of "patriotic duty."

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