<p>HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. has won court permission to dole out as much as $849,000 in bonuses to a group of executives and employees to persuade them to stick with the company until it completes the sale of its loan-servicing business.</p><p>Judge Kevin J. Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., approved the payments Thursday after the Atlanta-based housing lender modified the terms of the proposed bonuses.</p><p>HomeBanc initially sought to pay 15 executives above the rank of vice president up to $532,000 in bonuses if they would stay with the company until the sale's completion. But the U.S. trustee monitoring the bankruptcy liquidation, Kelly Beaudin Stapleton, moved to block the payments. She said the executives were officers of HomeBanc and therefore not eligible for "retention bonuses."</p><p>HomeBanc then revamped its compensation plan for the executives, splitting it into two parts. It said it would pay $391,875 in "incentive bonuses" to five of the 15 executives, if they met performance targets involving a smooth sale of the loan-servicing business by Nov. 30, 2006. It said it would make $172,177 in retention payments to the other executives.</p><p>The executives eligible for incentive payments include Cameron Beane, HomeBanc's director of secondary marketing. Beane, whose annual salary is $155,000, would be eligible for an incentive bonus of up to $116,250, according to court papers. Marilyn Eberhardt, the company's loan-servicing director, would be eligible for a $95,625 bonus _ roughly 75 percent of her annual base compensation.</p><p>Roy Briggs III, another loan-servicing director, would be eligible for a $72,000 bonus, about 60 percent of his yearly base pay. Donna Cribbs, HomeBanc's product-development manager, would be eligible for a $54,000 bonus, about half her annual pay. Kortney Rollinger, whose annual base pay is $90,000, would get a bonus of up to $54,000.</p><p>HomeBanc said the 10 other executives, whose annual salaries range from $75,000 to $133,000, would get retention bonuses of $6,000 to $26,000.</p><p>HomeBanc, which collapsed into bankruptcy on Aug. 9, has halted its loan-origination business and laid off more than 900 workers. It is preparing to sell its "most valuable asset," the loan-servicing business, at an auction. That business currently services 39,355 mortgages worth $8 billion.</p><p>HomeBanc said its remaining employees are "vital" to the company's ability to complete an orderly liquidation.</p>
