Vikram Pandit stands to forgo $33 mn as exit voids retention plan

NEW YORK: Vikram Pandit, who stepped down as Citigroup's CEO, stands to forfeit almost $33 million in cash and stock from a retention package unless the board gives him a payout to ease his exit.

Citigroup formulated a plan last year that, based on the firm's performance so far, would have given Pandit $19 million through a profit-sharing agreement, deferred stock now valued at $9 million and $4.6 million in options, according to the terms of a May 2011 regulatory filing and data compiled by Bloomberg.

The plan required Pandit, 55, to be employed at the bank through various payment dates, most of which haven't been reached.

It's typical for CEOs to work out an alternative payout agreement with the board, said Steven Hall, MD of Steven Hall & Partners, a New York-based executive compensation consulting firm. Pandit getting nothing would signal that "he stood up and said, 'I'm resigning,'" Hall said.