Reuters: Citi Guarantees Bonuses for London Hires

Citigroup, a U.S. bank that has received $45 billion (32 billion pounds) from taxpayers since October, is paying multimillion-dollar guaranteed bonuses to salesmen and traders it has hired in London, people familiar with the matter said.

“Paying guaranteed bonuses in this environment is more of a minority practice… it will attract some scrutiny,” said Joe Sorrentino, managing director at compensation consultant Steven Hall & Partners.  “But from the company’s perspective, to be able to pay back the government, they have to have viable businesses and for that they need qualified people,” he added.