15/03/2012

NAMA Injects €506m Into Irish Economy And Supports 9500 Jobs

The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has approved the injection of €506 million into the Irish economy through working and development capital advances to debtors, said the Agency's Chief Executive.

Speaking to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform1, Brendan McDonagh said the Agency's advances represent a significant injection of capital into the construction sector and wider economy.

"We anticipate that there will be significant opportunity in the coming years to advance further working and development capital in respect of the Irish market," said Mr McDonagh.

NAMA Chairman Frank Daly told the Committee that approximately 9,500 people are employed in Ireland by NAMA debtor companies.

"The Agency is conscious of the need to work with debtors wherever possible to maximise the amount of money recoverable for the taxpayer and support these jobs."

Mr Daly added that the majority of debtors were working constructively with the Agency.

Mr McDonagh also said the NAMA Board had decided to establish dedicated teams comprising 15 existing NAMA staff, which will monitor and supervise the management of the 599 debtors with loans totalling €5 billion which are not directly managed by NAMA but are managed on the Agency’s behalf by approximately 500 staff within Bank of Ireland, AIB and Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.

"The teams concerned will be situated within the institutions and will ensure that the highest standards are applied by the institutions to the management of the €5 billion NAMA debt which is involved," he said.

The Committee was also told that the Agency is pursuing a number of its largest debtors to reverse transfers of assets to family members and connected parties.

Mr McDonagh said a number of debtors were being pursued through the courts and that the Agency was also carrying out detailed asset searches to establish if other asset transfers had not been disclosed to the Agency by debtors.

The Agency has already succeeded in reversing similar transfers totalling €160 million from 31 debtors. The largest single debtor asset transfer reversed was worth €30 million.

In addition to the asset transfer reversals, the Agency has been granted charges over assets with an aggregate value of €221 million in new security.

The combined value of new charges over assets and reversal of asset transfers is likely to be close to €500 million. “This further protects the position of taxpayers”, said Mr McDonagh.

(CD)

Related Northern Ireland Business News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

24 November 2009
Banks 'Responsible To Firms': Wilson
Local banks must increase lending to viable local businesses at reasonable terms, according to Stormont Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson.
07 July 2010
Lenihan Tough On NAMA Bankers' Errors
Banks have been less than clear on certain aspects of the running of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA). Daíl Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has now promised action against banks that provide "misleading information" but insisted that NAMA had done its job, and actually paid the banks less than had been envisaged.
09 April 2009
Irish Banks Downgraded Despite Budget Proposal
Despite Brian Lenihan's best efforts, Ireland's banks have been downgraded by the credit rating agency, Moody's. Moody's has cut its ratings on 12 banks operating in Ireland, despite the Finance Minister's budgetary plan to create an asset management agency to buy up risky bank loans.
19 July 2010
Irish Credit Rating Downgraded Again
Ireland's international credit rating has again been downgraded by an influential international ratings agency. Moody's is a major ratings agency informing outside investors on investment risk. The agency has downgraded Ireland's sovereign bond rating from Aa1 to Aa2, possibly harming Ireland's ability to attract investment from overseas.
29 July 2010
Enterprise Agency Gains Two Directors
The representative body for the Local Enterprise Agency Network - Enterprise Northern Ireland - has appointed two new non-Executive Directors to its Board. They are Sandy Smith, former Director General of the International Fund for Ireland and Angela McGowan, Chief Economist at Northern Bank.