25 DFómh 2011, 17:42
Chief Executive of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) will appear before the Public Accounts Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, 26th October to discuss its annual report and financial statements for 2010.
Among the critical issues the Committee will address tomorrow are:
• The loss €1.5 billion which NAMA recorded on its loan book due to impairments;
• Given the depressed state of the property market in Ireland, the likelihood is that there will be a further loss in 2011.
Chairman of the Committee, John McGuinness, TD said: “NAMA functions as a bad bank, acquiring property development loans from Irish banks in return for government guaranteed bonds. It has acquired loans of €72.3 billion from participating financial institutions
The NAMA project is now in a new phase where it has to work the €72.3 billion worth of loans that have come over from the participating institutions. This will require NAMA entering into business relationships with lenders to ensure that ultimately a cash flow is generated into the NAMA books so that it can start to repay the bondholders that lent money to NAMA to acquire the original loans.
At its meeting tomorrow the Committee will be looking for assurances that the NAMA business model is working and that there is no danger that the State will have to step in to help NAMA meet its repayments.
The committee will also be looking at how it is generating value for money especially in the way it disposes of loans and arranges for the sale of various properties that have been used as security for loans.
We will also want to establish how the property portfolio is being managed against the backdrop that some of the assets will have to be sold in order to generate funds for NAMA. There is a danger that all the desirable assets will be offloaded as there is currently a market for them and that the assets NAMA will be left with will not be in a position to generate sufficient income between now and 2019 when it is expected that the NAMA project will be complete.”
The Committee will meet tomorrow, 26th October at 10am in Committee Room 1, Leinster House 2000.
Committee proceedings can be followed live at:
http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o
Ends
For further information please contact:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 3903
M: 086-0496518
F: +3531 618 4551
Committee of Public Accounts
Membership
John McGuinness (Chairman)
Kieran O’Donnell (Vice Chairman)
Paul J Connaughton,
John Deasy,
Paschal Donohoe,
Anne Ferris,
Simon Harris,
Michael McCarthy,
Mary Lou McDonald,
Michael McGrath,
Eoghan Murphy,
Derek Nolan,
Shane Ross