花旗，现在该谈谈潘伟迪了

    花旗发言人不愿就董事会在此事中扮演的角色发表评论，但表示，当时是有所有权变更的“最终协议”，只是“尚未最后达成”。而且，“由于谈判事关机密，（不能）对协议条款发表评论，”发言人在写给我的电子邮件中说。“没有提前公告。”

    任何公司的董事会都需要监督最高管理层进行的任何涉及公司资产的交易。他们应该确保这是一项公平合理的交易，最符合公司、全体股东以及利益相关者的利益，披露恰当而准确。安然(Enron)当初与时任首席财务官安德鲁•法斯托的单边安排就把它推上了风口浪尖。今年，切萨皮克能源公司(Chesapeake)首席执行官以其所持公司气井权益作为担保，取得巨额贷款，这样非同寻常的安排也让该公司备受抨击。

    由于花旗过去也有过类似的安排，这样的状况值得关注。花旗集为表现不佳的Old Lane掏出了8亿美元，据《纽约时报》报道，其中1.65亿美元都进了潘伟迪的口袋。

    虽然花旗集团董事会的有些成员可能对CCA交易一无所知，但有几位雇员知道这桩交易已经有一段日子了。比如，据花旗集团发言人称，今年2月16日，约翰•哈文思和乔•多弗曼、吉姆•欧布莱恩一起向同事们发出了一份相关安排的备忘录。

    现在是时候了，不能再停留于内部备忘录和无端猜测了。花旗集团，你们现在可以开口了。

    Eleanor Bloxham是董事会顾问公司价值同盟和公司治理同盟公司（The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance，http://thevaluealliance.com)的首席执行官。

    译者：早稻米

    Citi's spokesperson would not comment on the board's involvement in this matter, noting there was "a definitive agreement" for the ownership change but that it was "pending close." Further, "comment about the terms of the deal [can not be made] as the negotiations were private," the spokesperson wrote me. "There was no earlier public announcement."

    The board of any company ought to keep a close eye on deals with top managers that involve company assets. They should ensure that the deal is a fair and reasonable transaction, that it's in the best interests of the company and all of its shareholders and stakeholders, and that disclosures are appropriate and accurate. Enron ran into the buzz saw with its side arrangements with then-CFO Andrew Fastow. And this year, Chesapeake came under fire because of its highly unusual arrangement with its CEO's stake in the company's drilling operations.

    Given Citi's history with similar negotiations, the situation warrants attention. Citi forked over $800 million for underperforming Old Lane, $165 million of which Pandit pocketed, according to the New York Times.

    While it's possible that some members of Citi's board were in the dark about the CCA transaction, several employees have known about the deal for some time. John Havens, for one, along with Jon Dorfman and Jim O'Brien, wrote a memo to colleagues on February 16 about the arrangement, according to Citigroup's spokesperson.

    It's time to move beyond internal memos and speculation. Citigroup, it's time to start talking.

    Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (http://thevaluealliance.com), a board advisory firm.