LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Nationalized U.K. mortgage bank Northern Rock said Wednesday that its 2009 net loss narrowed to 309.1 million pounds ($462 million) from 1.38 billion pounds a year earlier, helped by higher net interest income and tight cost controls. The group said impairment losses rose to 1.04 billion pounds from 894.4 million pounds. The company, which was split in two at the start of 2010, said it will pay bonuses totalling 14.9 million pounds for the year, including 1.5 million in respect of the U.K.'s one-time bonus tax, which is a 50% charge payable by the bank on individual bonuses over 25,000 pounds. CEO Gary Hoffman has waived his entitlement to a bonus and the bank said it's working on a new incentive scheme for Hoffman that will only pay out when the bank returns to profitability or to private ownership. The group said loan loss impairment charges are expected to remain high in 2010, but below the level recorded in 2009.
