Updated at 5:50 p.m.

CLEVELAND -- National City Corp.'s top 14 executives will get as much as $49.5 million in payouts under the bank's merger with PNC Financial Services Group Inc., which closed Wednesday.

PNC's announced the payments Wednesday, ending weeks of uncertainty about whether National City executives would receive the payouts after the $3.9 billion merger was complete.

PNC is buying National City with bailout money from the Treasury Department, and the legislation authorizing the bailout forbids paying "golden parachutes" to officers of banks receiving the funds.

But National City did not receive the money and apparently is not subject to those restrictions. PNC spokesman Brian Goerke said Wednesday that the severance agreements "were existing obligations of National City, and PNC expects to abide by them."

More about National City

• How the deal affects people in Northeast Ohio

• Plain Dealer Monday: Questions remain about PNC-National City deal

• Plain Dealer Sunday: PNC takeover may not be a plus for consumers

• Previous stories



Executives who stay with PNC after the merger will not receive the payments.

The closing of the merger effectively ends National City's 163-year history as an independent banking company. National City agreed to the merger fearing that federal regulators would shut down the bank otherwise, according to PNC regulatory filings.

Stung by a big portfolio of bad mortgages and the slump of the financial industry, National City struggled for 18 months. Its stock price plunged as earnings fell and regulators examined the company more thoroughly, wiping out the savings of many investors and employees.

When Congress passed emergency bailout legislation, National City Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Raskind said regulators made it clear that National City would not get the help, forcing it to seek a buyer.

Raskind, who is leaving the company, stands to receive about $8.1 million in severance payments, after taxes. He has said he would donate a large portion of the money to the Cleveland Foundation if he received it.

In an interview in October, Raskind said that selling National City was the right thing to do for shareholders, employees and customers, but that "it's a decision that near term is going to result in some pain, a job loss of some magnitude. It is inevitable. We all understand that."

He added that he and his wife agreed to redirect a "substantial portion" of any severance package back to Cleveland. "And the Cleveland Foundation seemed like the best vehicle we could think of to do that. It was a comfortable place, for us, to end."

Raskind was not available for interviews Wednesday.

Other executives who apparently will get payouts are retail banking chief Daniel Frate and Executive Vice President Jon Gorney. Frate could get $4.02 million after taxes and Gorney $3.96 million.

Goerke did not say when the payments would be made, but severance agreements with National City call for them to be paid upon the completion of a merger.

As part of the merger agreement, PNC will have to shed several branches in Western Pennsylvania. Goerke said the company has identified which branches to sell but has not finalized any deals.

He added that PNC will make several announcements over the next few months to guide customers and employees through the transition to the new company.