Citigroup gives ex-CEO Prince $40 million severance package

The package is less than a quarter of what former Merrill Lynch Chief Executive Stan O'Neal was awarded when he was ousted from the investment bank last week.

The terms of Prince's retirement include the vesting of options estimated to be worth $1.28 million, the vesting of deferred stock estimated to be worth $16.05 million and the vesting of restricted shares worth $10.7 million.

The package also includes a little more than 83 percent of his 2006 bonus and stock awards of about $23.8 million, adjusted for the total shareholder return for 2007, which is so far a decline of about 38 percent. That totals another $12.3 million or so.

Citi said on Sunday that Prince was retiring amid billions of dollars of expected fourth-quarter writedowns for securities linked to subprime mortgages. Citi wrote down $6.8 billion in the third-quarter.

Citi shares have fallen for eight straight sessions, in a slump that has chopped $48.5 billion off the bank's market capitalization.