‘Stop debating NAMA and get it started’

THE political process surrounding the Government’s NAMA plan should now focus on fine-tuning the proposals and getting it started, rather than debating the need for it, according to one overseas banking figure.

“This issue is all new to everyone. There are different ways to deal with the whole ‘good bank’/’bad bank’ strategy and it can’t be fairly said that the NAMA project is any better or worse than any other attempt previously made,” said Basil Geoghegan, managing director of Deutsche Bank in London, during a break in proceedings at Farmleigh over the weekend.

Dublin-born Mr Geoghegan is responsible for Deutsche’s British and Irish clients and is co-chair of the Ireland Fund of Great Britain. Regarding NAMA, he said that with no real credible alternative on the table, criticism of the Government’s plans to effectively cleanse the loan books of the main Irish banks was misplaced.