Citigroup shareholders in the US have voted against the bank's plan to pay chief executive Vikram Pandit US$15 million.

The shareholder vote, mandated by the "say on pay" legislation under the Dodd-Frank Act, was taken at the firm's annual meeting in Dallas.

Given absentee votes are counted as rejections, 55% of shareholders were considered to have voted against the proposed compensation, which the bank had argued was appropriate to attract and retain talent.

The vote is non-binding, although in a statement issued after the vote, the bank said it would take the sentiment into consideration.

"Citi's board of directors takes the shareholder vote seriously, and along with senior management will consult with representative shareholders to understand their concerns," the bank wrote.

The move follows years of poor stock-market performance at Citigroup, whose shares have lost 93% of their value since 2006, partly attributed to the billions of shares issued to repay a 2008-2009 government bailout of US$45bn.

This week the bank announced first quarter profit of US$2.9bn, a result that beat expectations on the back of a pick-up in business from international clients and an increase in customers repaying loans on time.

Revenues were US$19.4bn, down 2% from the same quarter year on year.