Asset agency predicts €600m profit before charges

NAMA is expecting to generate a full-year operating profit before impairment charges of around €600 million this year.

The agency’s chief executive Brendan McDonagh addressing the latest sitting of the Public Accounts Committee in the Dáil, yesterday — said that the impairment figure would not be known until the end of the year. In 2010 NAMA posted a net operating profit of €305m; which translated into an overall loss of just under €1.2 billion, due to impairment charges of €1.48bn to cover potential losses on loans it acquired from lenders.

NAMA’s management were also quizzed on the recent review of the agency by former HSBC chief, Michael Geoghegan. The recently departed NAMA board member Peter Stewart said that the Geoghegan review should result in significant changes to the agency’s structure and could be a watershed in its life.