Nama says it may need 220 more staff

Nama may require an additional 220 employees if, as expected, it acquires a tranche of fresh commercial loans from the IBRC in the coming months.

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee, yesterday, Nama chief executive, Brendan McDonagh, said the agency expects to acquire “a substantial proportion” of the IBRC loans — in late 2013/early 2014 — that aren’t sold by the former Anglo Irish Bank/Irish Nationwide holding company’s special liquidator. He added that the new portfolio — with a potential par balance of €20bn — will present “a major challenge”.

“We expect that we will need to recruit between 180 and 220 additional staff directly in Nama, to carry out a range of services in relation to the new IBRC portfolio,” Mr McDonagh said, adding that such recruitment would be “challenging enough at the best of times, but — faced with public pay restrictions — it becomes much more so”.