CIT CIT Group Inc

Departing CIT Group Inc. chief executive John Thain took a 9% pay cut as the lender's board criticized his work on the bank's purchase of OneWest Bank.

Mr. Thain received a pay package valued at $7.5 million for his work in 2015, according to a proxy statement filed Friday. He was awarded a package worth $8.3 million the prior year.

CIT's board cut part of Mr. Thain's bonus because of concerns over the handling of OneWest, "reflecting the assessment by the Board that the management team and the cultures of the two organizations were not successfully integrated in a timely manner," according to the bank's 2015 proxy.

When measured with the Securities and Exchange Commission's methodology, the proxy said Mr. Thain received $11.4 million in total compensation in 2015, up from $8.8 million in 2014. Mr. Thain is stepping down as CIT chief executive at the end of this month and l eaving the post of chairman in May.

In detailing the decline of Mr. Thain's pay package, the board said the executive didn't meet most of the expectations for closing and starting the integration of OneWest. About 20% of Mr. Thain's short-term incentive pay was based on the metric. The board awarded Mr. Thain 2 percentage points of the 20 available. Mr. Thain mostly met or completely met other goals, including pretax income, new business activity and a focus on compliance.

A CIT spokesman declined to comment. Mr. Thain couldn't be reached for immediate comment.

The securities filing also had new information on the $60 million CIT last year said it would pay to a number of departing senior executives, a decision that contributed to the bank's missing earnings estimates in the fourth quarter.

Steven Mnuchin, the departing vice chairman of CIT and former chief executive of OneWest's parent, will get $10.9 million in severance. Joseph Otting, the former chief executive of CIT's banking unit who was previously CEO of OneWest, earned $24.9 million in total compensation in 2015, which included a $12 million severance payment.

The two former OneWest executives also received unspecified "security services" from CIT.

CIT's business has been in a tough spot recently: shares have declined, profitability has dropped and the bank is expected to unveil a new turnaround strategy on Wednesday.

CIT in 2014 announced plans to buy OneWest's parent for $3.4 billion in a deal Mr. Thain called "transformational" at the time. But the transaction, which closed last year, has run into problems, including $38.5 million of loans to a troubled movie studio that is emerging from bankruptcy.

Mr. Thain took the top job at CIT in 2010. The job gave him a low-key platform to mount a recovery from a tumultuous stint as CEO of Merrill Lynch.

Write to Rachel Louise Ensign at rachel.ensign@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2016 16:05 ET (20:05 GMT)

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