Nama monster is a whole lot bigger

ONE of the main criticisms of Nama when it was set up was that the Government had created a monster that lacked transparency and accountability. As of Wednesday night, it got a whole lot bigger. However, the circumstances of the merger with IBRC means there is unlikely to be the same backlash.

Nama was set up to take €74bn in property development loans from the domestic banks by issuing €32bn in bonds. According to the last Nama annual report, it had a loanbook of roughly €26bn. The IBRC loanbook is roughly €16bn.

There are still a number of issues about the merger that are unclear, such as how many of IBRC’s 700 staff will be transferred. Nama has a headcount of 220. Another key issue will be how many of IBRC’s senior personnel make the move.