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Citigroup Inc. is increasing the base salaries of many employees – reportedly by as much as 50 percent for some workers – as it restructures their compensation amid government restrictions on bonuses.

The higher salaries are not the equivalent of annual raises because bonuses are being lowered, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the plans have not been made public.

Employee compensation at financial companies, particularly in the form of bonuses, has brought criticism after the government gave the banks hundreds of billions in bailout dollars. Citi and the other companies who still hold bailout funds face limits on bonuses as part of a new government compensation oversight plan. The Treasury Department had no immediate comment about Citi’s change in compensation plans.

By: theolympian.com    Read more >>

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) has no plans to sell its stake in Hong Kong lender Wing Hang Bank Ltd. (0302.HK) even though it has made repaying the US$3 billion it owes the Troubled Asset Relief Program fund a priority, a senior Asia Pacific executive said.

“We are not looking to sell Bank of New York Mellon’s stake in Wing Hang Bank,” said Christopher Sturdy, Bank of New York Mellon’s Asia Pacific chairman. “The Wing Hang Bank investment has been very sound and profitable for the company - a really good investment for us over time and it continues to be so.”

Bank of New York Mellon now owns a 20.28% stake in the family run mid-sized Hong Kong lender - a legacy investment the bank has had since 1998 when it merged with Irving Trust Co.

By: onlinewsj.com     Read more >>