There will be no options bonanza for people at Citi, RBS and BofA

Here's another important reason why staff at state-supported banks may feel inclined to make a swift exit in 2010: they're probably not sitting on a pile of valuable options from last year.

As the chart below shows, stock prices for most firms have risen dramatically in the eleven months since January. Shares in Natixis, Barclays and Goldman Sachs are up nearly 100%, or even more.

Options issued as part of the 2008 bonus package which were based on share prices at the end of last year or early this year, will therefore now be a) very valuable, and b) an important retention tool.

However, the share prices of state-supported banks have languished.

It doesn't help that options at the likes of BofA appear to have been issued at very high strike prices to begin with. In January this year, the BofA stock price was $14.08. However, in 2008 the weighted average excise price of BofA options outstanding was $43.08 - up there with the 2008 highs in the bank's share price.

By comparison, at Goldman Sachs the weighted average excise price of options outstanding in November 2008 was $109.5, even though the bank's stock spent most of 2007 and 2008 at $175+.

Who's sitting on the most valuable options from last year?