Editorial: Shareholders finally speak up

Enough already.

That was the welcome message from Citigroup shareholders Tuesday when they rejected the pay package of their chief executive, Vikram Pandit, in a nonbinding vote.

Pandit was paid only $1 in 2010. But don't look for him on any bread lines; he joined the banking giant when Citigroup paid more than $800 million in 2007 for the hedge fund he co-founded, only to close it a year later. Pandit's share: $165 million. He'll also get to keep his 2011 package of $15 million despite the vote against it.

Chief executives of huge public corporations deserve a lot of money; CEO is a hard job, and top talent is scarce. But as one Citigroup shareholder put it, "there's good pay and there's obscene pay."

Was Pandit's pay package really so outlandish? That's for the company's owners to say. But it's worth noting that Citigroup shares are down 93 percent since 2006; the firm might have collapsed during the financial crisis absent a federal bailout. In fairness, most of its troubles predated Pandit.

The important thing is that pension funds and other big shareholders are speaking out, and that they continue doing so at other corporate giants. Most "say on pay" votes by shareholders are affirmative, but in cases like Citigroup, they can send a strong message that CEOs and their friendly boards must moderate compensation. Said one analyst: "This is a milestone for corporate America."

It's one that couldn't be more legible.