Citigroup's top executives awarded stock worth $70m

Citigroup awarded stock worth nearly $70m (€58m) to its top executives last week before the announcement of its 2005 results, in which profits from its corporate and investment banking division more than tripled.

Robert Druskin, who runs the operation, received deferred stock worth about $5.3m on the basis of last week's price, taking the value of his holding to $55.2m. Profits at the division reached $6.9bn last year and its pre-tax profit margin quadrupled to 41%.

Winfried Bischoff, chairman of Citigroup in Europe, was awarded $2m and holds about $13.7m in deferred shares, while chief financial officer Sallie Krawcheck received $4.3m in deferred shares. Robert Rubin, head of the executive committee and a former treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, was awarded $6.8m worth.

Other managers winning large payouts included Manuel Medina-Mora, head of operations in Latin America and Mexico, who received $1.6m, and head of global wealth management Todd Thomson, who received over $3m in deferred shares.

The biggest stock payout went to chief executive Charles Prince, who received deferred shares worth $10m, bringing the value of his stake to more than $73.9m.

Chairman Sandy Weill was awarded stock valued at $7.7m, taking his holdings to more than $805m, the largest stake of any Citigroup employee. The board, on which Prince and Weill sit, was paid $25.6m in deferred stock.