Recall that in February 2009, Citigroup (C) CEO Vikram Pandit (Vikram Pandit news) vowed to take $1 a year until the bank turned profitable. For the year, he actually made about $125,000 due to the paychecks he received before he made the pledge. The twist here is that the Citi board has said that it thinks Pandit deserves a bonus (bonus news) for his work in 2009, given the bank's capital raising activity and repaying $20 billion of bailout (bailout news) money. 

So did Pandit speak too hastily? Obviously, he felt pressure to demonstrate his commitment, as he's constantly rumored to be on the hot seat. But he may feel somewhat wistful watching his CEO peers make millions, with relatively little controversy. But the best comparison is with Ken Lewis (Ken Lewis news), who did not get a bonus or a salary.

For the record, Pandit's not exactly flush due to his 2008 pay. Bloomberg notes the stock has declined to the point where his options and grants, once worth more than $30 million combined, are worth much, much less. He's still due to receive something from Citigroup's purchase in 2007 of his part-owned hedge fund, Old Lane Partners.  

For more:
- here's the article

Related Articles:
The new Citigroup: Straight to the public
Some execs make more than the CEO
Buy-side pours into Citigroup
Why the short interest on Citi and Bank of America?