Minister: Only time will tell if NAMA can succeed

ONLY time will tell if the NAMA gamble pays off a Government minister admitted yesterday as the Bill setting up the agency – described by the opposition as “the biggest corporate cheque in history” – passed the final stages in the Dáil.

The agency is expected to start taking over property loans from banks before Christmas, after the Bill is signed into law by President Mary McAleese next week.

The state will pay €54 billion for the takeover of loans and it’s hoped that banks will begin to free up lending to business and mortgage customers in return for the gamble.