A group of former Citigroup bankers urged the board of directors to cancel bonuses for hundreds of managers, cut consultant expenses, and take other measures to accelerate the "turnaround".

According to a copy of a five-page letter sent to the board of directors by this group this month, they are requesting the board to retract and stop the bonuses linked to the reform system and reshaping business lines being paid to various managers at Citigroup. Sources said that the board of directors at Citigroup has received the letter, and the group is hoping to speak with the chair of the compensation committee.

The anonymous letter writer claiming to represent 10 former managing directors is waiting for a total of 1.27 million USD in deferred compensation tied to the company's stock. A former managing director who has had contact with the group but has not yet joined, stated that they have had video calls discussing their demands.

A year ago, Citigroup's CEO Jane Fraser announced a plan aimed at streamlining the operations of this massive global bank: cutting 20,000 jobs, restructuring business lines, and committing to meet enhanced regulatory requirements.

"This anonymous letter contains a lot of factual inaccuracies and a series of misleading statements that we strongly disagree with," a Citigroup spokesperson said in an email statement. "However, we acknowledge the stakeholders' desire to see us make progress quickly - we share this goal and are making tough decisions towards it."

Despite the bank's stock rising by 25% this year, it still lags behind many other major banks in the USA.

Citigroup implemented a transformation bonus plan at the end of 2021, closely linking the compensation of many executives to the improvement of the company's risk management, control, and culture. The plan set target bonuses for over 250 employees, then paid bonuses proportionally based on the overall performance of the transformation plan - 94% in 2022 and 80% in 2023.

According to the documents from the company's annual shareholders' meeting, in 2023, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason and Chief Operating Officer Anand Selvakesari each received 1 million USD in addition to their standard compensation.

An anonymous letter stated that due to the dissatisfaction of regulatory institutions with the progress of improvements so far, the operation of the management team "reflects long-term internal loyalty to Fraser, rather than the independent thinking, management execution, and strategic adjustments needed by the company at this critical moment", giving out these bonuses is 'unreasonable'.