Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser landed a major pay raise in 2023 despite the company facing a 40% decline in profits last year. Wall Street’s top executive received a 6% salary boost which bumped up her pay to $26 million, and the company attributed Fraser’s “strategy” and “priorities” as the main determining factors for her increase in compensation, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The Compensation Committee’s 2023 incentive compensation determination for Ms. Fraser reflected its belief that Ms. Fraser’s strategic and other priorities are sound and that she is executing on them promptly and thoughtfully, with an eye towards driving long-term sustainable growth, improved returns and enhanced safety and soundness,” read the filing.
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Even though $26 million is a large salary base, it is still lower compared to other Wall Street CEOs at large banks where some make almost $10 million more a year.
In Citigroup’s fourth-quarter earnings report for 2023, the company’s diluted earnings per share for the entire year of 2023 decreased by 42% and its net income shrunk by 38% when compared to 2022. But its revenues for the year increased by 4%.
Also, during the fourth quarter alone last year, the company earned $17.4 billion in revenue but faced a loss of $18.7 billion due to fees such as $780 million from severance and other reorganization efforts associated with the company laying off roughly 7,000 employees. Fraser has dubbed the earnings for the quarter as “very disappointing.”
Fraser took over Citigroup as CEO in 2021 after serving as president at the company for over a year. In September last year, she announced “significant changes” to the company’s organizational model “that will fully align its management structure with its business strategy and simplify the bank,” according to a press release.
“I am determined that our bank will deliver to our full potential, and we’re making bold decisions to meet our commitments to all our stakeholders,” said Fraser in the press release.
One of the major upcoming changes that will be part of the new strategy includes laying off 20,000 employees to free up $2.5 billion in expenses by 2026. The company is also budgeting $700 million to $1 billion for severance and other costs related to upcoming layoffs.
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