Sub-prime lender wants bonus money set aside

New Century Financial Corp. has proposed paying at least $6.3 million in bonuses to 131 key employees, including top executives, should all the Irvine-based company’s assets be sold off.

The bonus money includes $3.48 million for Chief Executive Brad Morrice and seven company officials if they attract buyers for its main assets.

The remaining money would be split among 123 employees who would be paid regardless of whether the firm sold any assets, according to court documents filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

“The debtors require the means to motivate leadership and to address steeply declining morale of its employees,” the company said.

The incentive payments are intended to keep employees from leaving until the company is sold off.

New Century specialized in making loans to people with poor credit before it collapsed under the weight of a mountain of bad loans.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection April 2 and is planning to sell most of its assets within the next few weeks, including its remaining loans, loan-servicing division and loan origination platform.

A unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group has agreed to pay $50 million for about 2,000 New Century mortgage loans, most of which are in default. Carrington Capital Management has offered to pay about $133 million for the loan-servicing unit, which collects and manages mortgage payments. There are no bidders so far for the company’s loan origination platform.

Today, Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey in Wilmington will consider approving rules for auctioning all of New Century’s assets. If no other bidders appear, Royal and Carrington would buy the divisions for which they have pending bids.