Early approval unlikely to shift formal transfers deadline

SINCE it was proposed last summer, NAMA has essentially been a numbers game.

Key numbers include the value of loans being transferred from the five institutions involved (€80 billion, or so); the discount percentage figure the Government will eventually get when buying those loans (roundly believed to be 30%); the actual monetary amount that will be paid for them (approximately €54bn) and to what extent each bank will need recapitalisation after the transfer. Another number that has cropped up in recent times is exactly how many more weeks must we wait until formal transfers begin.

That seems to be the main clarification from yesterday’s formal approval from the European Commission, the green light removing the final hurdle to transfers starting. Certainly, the number of dissenting voices over the project as a whole has not diminished.