Cowen: NAMA will free up lending

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has insisted that banks will start to lend more as a result of NAMA, despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the agency would not result in the freeing up of credit.

Documents released yesterday revealed a senior IMF official warned Government officials at a meeting last April that NAMA will not boost lending levels by banks.

But Brian Cowen dismissed the warning and said NAMA will be “absolutely vital and necessary” to free up credit.