NAMA To Be Dissolved Tonight After 16 Years

Established in December 2009 at the height of the crash, the National Asset Management Agency bought bank loans with a face value of €72.3 billion, paying €31.8 billion — a discount of 58% that left huge holes in the banks’ balance sheets. Those gaps were plugged with a €40 billion capital injection from the Irish taxpayer, part of a bank rescue that cost the State €64 billion in total.

What NAMA cost — and what it leaves behind

A year after NAMA was set up, Ireland accepted a €67 billion bailout from the Troika of the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. Over 16 years the agency repaid the €31.8 billion it borrowed from the State and returned a surplus of €5.6 billion, including €450 million in corporation tax.

NAMA said it “facilitated the delivery of over 44,500 new homes in Ireland, with 14,660 directly funded and delivered”.

Brendan McDonagh, the agency’s only chief executive, returns to a new NTMA role advising the State on large investment projects, while €58 million in cash and €23 million in assets transfer to a resolution unit. For more, see the latest Irish news.