A top Citigroup Inc. trader is pressing the financial giant to honor a 2009 pay package that could total $100 million, setting the stage for a potential showdown between Citi and the government’s new pay czar.
The trader, Andrew J. Hall, heads Citigroup’s energy-trading unit, Phibro LLC — a secretive operation, run from the site of a former Connecticut dairy farm, that occasionally accounts for a disproportionate chunk of Citigroup income.Mr. Hall’s pay package puts Citigroup in a tight spot. Ripping up the contract could trigger Mr. Hall’s departure and a potentially messy legal fight. But making any large payouts, even if they’re based on previously agreed contracts, could subject Citigroup to political and investor fallout.
Not only should he not get 1/10 of what he’s demanding, Citigroup should be broken up so they are no longer too big to fail. The 1998 merger between Citicorp and Traveler’s Group resulted in the world’s largest financial services organization in Citigroup. The government is moving far too slowly in correcting the problems that resulted in the collapse of our economy.
Let Hall sue. Citigroup had to be bailed out by the government to prevent it from collapsing. When something like that happens, all contracts are unenforsable. Let him sue and see if a jury awards him a penny.
DRUDGE RETORT 