NAMA to be dissolved tonight after 16 years

End of an era

As RTÉ reported, the agency’s eight remaining staff will move to the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).

Established in December 2009 during the aftermath of the financial crash, the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) was created to take over troubled bank loans.

It purchased loans with a combined face value of €72.3 billion for €31.8 billion, applying a 58% discount that exposed major losses across 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.

NAMA’s final legacy

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.

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