Poll: Who Is the Most Overpaid Bank CEO?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) – Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit's pay package is drawing scrutiny from investors, but the question is it in line with the rest of the banking industry.

Many compensation experts say that Pandit's three-part compensation package, worth at least $16.5 Million, is justified and could actually benefit shareholders.

"All of his compensation is really tied to the future of the company," explains Paul Dorf, managing director for Compensation Resources. "The board is really using his compensation to drive business forward by placing most of the value the future performance of the company's shares."

Pandit has had to work his way through complicated situations and restructurings to be over the past several years, seeing his salary slashed from $1 million to $1 in 2009. That salary was increased to $1.75 million in 2011.

Maurice Toueg, partner at recruiting firm Capstone Partnership, says that Pandit has proven his worth as a leader that brings stability to Citigroup, unlike previous CEO Chuck Prince.

"There is a lot of skin in the game for Pandit. His salary his been tied to his performance," said Toueg. "The stock has been languishing for so long. This latest package, to tie his incentives to the stock, should be a really good thing for shareholders."

                                                            CEO                                         2010 Take Home Pay

- Bank of America                                Brian Moynihan                       $2,259,521

- JPMorgan Chase                               Jamie Dimon                           $41,990,521

- Citigroup                                            Vikram Pandit                          $1,346,904

- Wells Fargo                                       John Stumpf                            $6,568,378

- Morgan Stanley                                 James Gorman                        $10,392,374

- Goldman Sachs                                 Lloyd Blankfein                       $21,741,406

Compared to some other financial services executives – such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon or Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Pandit's incentives are pretty fair, experts say.

"Think about it. In order for him to get that full amount he has to build up billions of dollars of value for shareholders," says Dorf.