Latest news with #NTMA
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Department of Finance to wind down special bank shareholdings unit
The Department of Finance is set to wind down over the coming months the special banks shareholding and financial advisory division set up as the Government bailed out lenders during the financial crisis. It comes as Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is set to sell the State's remaining shares in AIB soon and as the remains of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) and the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) are on track to move to a new resolution unit in the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) later this year. Human resources officials told staff in the unit, which is led by Des Carville and employs around 20 people, in a memo last week that the principle functions of the bank shareholding and financial advisory division have been successfully completed and that it is now entering 'a new transition phase whereby the division will be wound down'. 'There will be a number of strands to the project which will take place over the coming months and some aspects of the work of the division will remain in the Department,' the memo said. READ MORE About a dozen of the staff, including Mr Carville, are on secondment from the NTMA and will return to the agency as their roles in the Department come to an end. A spokesman for the NTMA declined to comment. Mr Carville's long-time right-hand man, Scott Rankin, took a career break late last year to join PTSB as head of the bank's investor relations team. It is expected that the civil servants currently working in the unit will ultimately take over its remaining activities, including managing the gradual sale of the Government's remaining 57 per cent stake in PTSB. A spokesman for the Department confirmed that staff have been advised that 'a transition phase will commence shortly' for the until. He noted that final taxpayer shares in Bank of Ireland were sold in 2022, the State's interest in AIB is now about 3 per cent and the transfer of the remaining IBRC and Nama functions to a special resolute unit will take place later this year. Anglo Irish Bank was renamed IBRC in 2011 and subsequently took over the activities of fellow failed lender Irish Nationwide Building Society. IBRC was put into liquidation in 2013. The bank shareholding and financial advisory division had oversight of all these developments. The unit also had involvement in a range of cross-departmental initiatives over the years, including the establishment of the First Homes Scheme, a shared-equity programme for first-time buyers, and the Land Development Agency.
The Journal
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Salary of Nama boss expected to be raised with Brendan McDonagh at Finance Committee tomorrow
THE OUTGOING BOSS of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) Brendan McDonagh is set to be questioned over his €430,000 salary, which sparked controversy when his name was in the mix to be the new housing tsar. McDonagh, who is set to appear before the Joint Committee on Finance, does not address the issue in his opening statement, due to be delivered to committee members tomorrow afternoon. Earlier this month, McDonagh told Housing Minister James Browne that he no longer wished to be considered for the role of CEO of the Housing Activation Office, a position informally dubbed as the housing 'tsar'. McDonagh's withdrawal followed controversy over the revelations reported by The Ditch website and previous reports that he would retain his €430,000 Nama salary if he was appointed to the new role. Concerns had been raised as to whether McDonagh would retain the salary when he returns to his role in the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), however Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe poured cold water over the idea. Advertisement Chair of the committee, Sinn Féin's Mairead Farrell said McDonagh and his colleagues have been invited to appear before the committee tomorrow to discuss matters including the dissolution of Nama and the staffing arrangements following the wind down of the agency, which is expected to include salaries and remuneration. In his opening statement to the committee, seen by The Journal , McDonagh will outline that Nama has no staff and that all staff were assigned to it by the NTMA. 'No role in it' 'While the precise nature of these arrangements is a matter for the NTMA, Nama will cease to exist as a legal entity when the wind-down is complete – expected at end 2025 – and therefore will no longer have staff assigned to it,' he says in his statement. He adds that any decisions on how the NTMA Resolution Unit will operate 'will be a matter for the NTMA and I have no role in that'. Nama was established in 2009 as part of the State's response to the 2008 banking crisis to deal with property-backed loans. At that time, Nama acquired 11,500 land and development and associated loans from five Irish financial institutions, with over 800 debtor connections, an acquisition value of €32bn and a par value of €74bn. 'It was originally planned to complete the dissolution of the entire Nama infrastructure by the end of 2025. However, it has become clear that this will not be feasible as some assets may still be on Nama's balance sheet, and some litigation cases may be outstanding at end-2025,' the chair of the committee has said. Related Reads Donohoe does not expect NAMA boss to carry over €430,000 salary when he returns to NTMA job Chaos of housing tsar controversy is a symptom of a longer running dysfunction in Housing Tánaiste says it was correct to 'think through' housing tsar role but denies 'blocking' appointment McDonagh will tell the committee tomorrow that during 2025, Nama will finalise the deleveraging of its remaining portfolio and ensure that any residual activity transferred to the NTMA Resolution Unit is minimised in so far as practicable. Committee members will be told that Nama's lifetime surplus, currently projected to be €5.2 billion, is inclusive of corporation tax payments. 'A key part of our activity during 2025 will include the transfer of National Asset Residential Property Services, NARPS, our social housing portfolio of 1,366 homes to the Land Development Agency and remain in State ownership. We also expect to transfer two residential development sites (one in Dublin, one in Kildare) and capacity for circa 4,000 new homes to the LDA,' McDonagh states in his opening statement. Concerns have been raised about the retention of data and files as Nama winds down. McDonagh will tell the committee tomorrow that detailed plans for how data and records is being worked on, with the files expected to be transferred to the NTMA Resolution Unit at the end of the year. Entering 2025, Nama's balance sheet included a loan portfolio with assets valued in the region of €100 million with associated par debt of €1.7 billion, mostly made up of low-value exposures. The loans of some 34 debtors currently remain under the active management of Nama. Most of these debtors are expected to exit Nama by end-2025. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
14-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Nama to face questions from TDs over whether staff will keep six-figure salaries
The committee, chaired by Sinn Féin's Mairéad Farrell, will meet today for the first time in this Dáil term. It will also seek to bring in the governor of the Central Bank, Gabriel Makhlouf, to discuss its role in facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds in Europe. Ms Farrell said she would like to establish whether Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh will retain his €430,000 salary when he returns to the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) later this year. After a failed attempt to appoint Mr McDonagh as the new 'housing tsar' following public outcry and opposition from Fine Gael, questions arose as to whether he would keep his salary when Nama's work is complete. Legislation to wind up Nama is due to go before the committee in the coming weeks. It provides for the establishment of a small resolution unit within the NTMA to administer Nama affairs after it winds up. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe suggested last week that Mr McDonagh will not keep the salary. 'I expect there will be small number of people whose job it will be to see out the remaining work of Nama… it will not need a [CEO],' he said. 'It is my expectation that Brendan McDonagh will not be in that small unit.' There is one other Nama employee on a salary of between €275,000 and €300,000 and a further four on salaries between €200,00 and €225,000. Ms Farrell said there was an 'obvious question' around whether they would move to the NTMA and whether they would retain their salaries there. Ms Farrell is also arranging to meet Mr Makhlouf, whom she hopes to call before the committee to discuss so-called Israeli 'war bonds'. To be sold in the EU, bonds from non-EU countries must have their bond prospectus – a legal document – approved by an EU country. Israel traditionally had its European bond prospectuses approved in the UK, but turned to the Central Bank in Ireland for authorisations after Brexit. 'It is a very serious issue that has exercised an awful lot of people, so it is very important that this is discussed at the committee and I hope to do so as soon as is workable,' Ms Farrell said. 'The Central Bank clearly believe they have no legislative basis to stop the sale of these bonds, but I would disagree, and that is something we will have to discuss.' The Galway West TD said the committee would also examine public procurement practices and whether taxpayers were getting value for money in public projects. She will call in representatives from the Office of Public Works (OPW), which has been involved in a number of controversies since the committee last met.
Irish Independent
11-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Any Other Business: After waiving €2.7m in bonuses, does Brendan McDonagh now realise eaten bread is soon forgotten?
Every year since he took over the State's 'bad bank' in 2009, McDonagh waived his entitlement to be considered for the payment. This means he forfeited about €2.7m, if we presume Nama's remuneration committee gave him the full whack every year. A fat lot of good that self-sacrifice did him. When Government sources said he would keep his €430,000 a year salary as housing tsar, there was such a public and political outcry that McDonagh had to step back from the role. The amount of gratitude or recognition that he had forfeited millions in bonus pay over the last 16 years? Zero. McDonagh could have taken the Michael Somers approach. Why are public servants working in finance so lavishly remunerated? As CEO of the National Treasury Management Agency, Nama's parent body, Somers received €1m in remuneration in 2008, surely a record for an Irish public servant. That was made up of a salary of €565,000 and a performance-related bonus of €403,000. Incidentally, Somers refused to disclose either his pay or that of anyone else in the agency – and it took an application by yours truly under the Freedom of Information Act, which the NTMA's lawyers Arthur Cox appealed to the information commissioner, for the details to be released. The current head of the NTMA, Frank O'Connor, was paid a salary of €480,000 in 2023. Other benefits brought him up to €570,000. Why are public servants working in finance so lavishly remunerated? McDonagh is paid a salary of €430,000 for managing an agency in wind-down with fewer than 90 staff. A lot less onerous than solving Ireland's housing crisis. Yet no one ever cared about his Nama pay. Stellar names for Dalkey as Michael D aims for new chart topper If readers of the Financial Times find their newspaper a bit thin in the middle of June, it's because half their staff have decamped to Dalkey to appear in the annual book festival. This year's line-up of speakers includes the pink paper's Simon Kuper, Robert Shrimsley, Ed Luce and John Burn-Murdoch. The organisers, David McWilliams and Sian Smyth, have again attracted some stellar names – Lionel Shriver, Steven Pinker and his wife Rebecca Goldstein, and Michael Lewis. But if the headline events are sold out, there's a few other intriguing contributors, including two opportunities to catch Des Traynor, the tech entrepreneur who co-founded Intercom. Communications consultant James Morrissey will be talking about Garech Browne and the establishment of Claddagh Records, and how he revived the label by signing a global deal with Universal Music. Morrissey tells me he will also be revealing the names of 'some new acts' Claddagh has signed, which include President Michael D Higgins – whose spoken-word album of poetry is to be released in the autumn. The Currency rolls over loan. No pressure then Having a nose through the latest accounts of Currency Media Ltd, the company behind the online business newspaper, we notice it has returned its fourth year of annual profits, and has an extremely healthy cash balance, with over €2.16m in the bank. Founded by financial journalists Tom Lyons and Ian Kehoe, it has about 7,000 subscribers – up by almost 1,000 in the last year – and is eyeing further expansion in London as well as Dublin. Interestingly, we note that The Currency, which began publishing in 2019, has rolled over a loan of €375,000 which has an interest rate of 8pc. This was an advance from 'friends and family', which include Michael McDowell, the putative future president, who declared his loan to the company when he had to file a register of interests as a senator. 'There's no payback date for the loan,' Lyons told us. 'We're not under any pressure to do so.' Press Up empire was built on debt, says Kelly The developer and venture capitalist Simon Kelly has provided a pithy analysis of the unravelling of the Press Up group – once Dublin's biggest hospitality empire. Kelly speaks from hard experience of course, since he and his father Paddy were among the high-profile casualties of the property market crash in 2008, which he outlined in the book Breakfast with Anglo. Press Up was founded just after the crash by Paddy McKillen Jr and Matt Ryan. By the end, the business seems to have been poorly structured and planned, Kelly says in a post on LinkedIn. The 'bad' venues among the 25 or so pubs, restaurants and hotels it owned seemed to have pulled down the 'good' ones. It will probably be broken up now, but this should never have been a 'group' in the first place, he reckons. 'The entire company was built on debt, with no permanent equity. The lenders seem to have extended and extended credit, in the hope of a solution. This just grows the deficit in the end!' he points out. He concludes that a slow correction in Dublin property continues to play out, although nobody is talking about it. 'All I see is the opportunity to pick up great assets at great prices.' Former FGers find their fortunes improve From Leo Varadkar to Simon Coveney to Brendan Griffin, several Fine Gael TDs from the last Dáil are dipping their toes into corporate waters. Maybe they are inspired by erstwhile party colleague Dara Murphy. The former lord mayor of Cork resigned as a TD in 2019, after a prolonged controversy about his non-appearances in the Dáil. The then opposition leader Micheál Martin described him as an 'absentee TD' after Murphy didn't speak for almost two years. After he left Leinster House, the former minister for European affairs landed a gig as vice president of Rasmussen Global, a political consultancy with offices in Brussels and Copenhagen. He also set up his own consultancy firm, Epecon, to lobby on EU affairs. It can 'deliver advice and analysis for those seeking to navigate this complex and interwoven regulatory landscape', according to regulatory filings. Epecon got off to a sluggish start. There were two years of losses, but in the 12 months to June 2022 it turned a corner and made of profit of almost €62,000. According to accounts just filed, Epecon made a profit of €96,783 in the year ending June 30 last. Its current assets are €435,729, up from €300,088 the previous year. Is there life after politics for former Fine Gael TDs? There is, and a potentially lucrative one too. Ronan Power steps into the light The board of the Irish Solar Energy Association has generously provided us with this week's Man Whose Name Suits His Job. It has announced that chief executive Conall Bolger will be stepping down at the end of May, and in his place they have appointed... Ronan Power.
Extra.ie
07-05-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Brendan McDonagh ‘will be gone before new laws let him keep €430k'
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe expects outgoing Nama CEO Brendan McDonagh to leave his role before being entitled to retain his €430,000 salary. reported yesterday that the Government is progressing legislation that will allow remaining staff of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) to retain their salary when the organisation is wound up at the end of this year. When Nama is discontinued, its remaining staff will be transferred to the Resolution Unit of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). Pic: Sam Boal/ All Nama staff were seconded from the NTMA, with their increased salaries time-linked to their time at the NTMA. Mr McDonagh earned €220,000 in 2009 at the NTMA before his secondment to the then newly established Nama. reported last Thursday that his increased salary of €430,000 was 'time-limited' to his time with Nama. Mr Donohoe said it is his 'expectation' that Mr McDonagh will not be among the NTMA's Resolution Unit staff who will retain their increased pay after the role ends. 'I expect it will be a small number of people whose job will be to see out the remaining work of Nama, because that will be a small group of people, it will not need a CEO,' he said. 'There is already a CEO of the NTMA who is doing a very good job, and that particular unit will not need a CEO for it, and for that reason, Brendan McDonagh will not be in the unit.' Pic: Leah Farrell / © The general scheme of the conclusion of IBRC Special Liquidation and Dissolution of Nama Bill 2024 was published in July last year and is currently at the committee stage. Under the legislation, 'staff will not have less favourable terms and conditions of service relating to remuneration than they enjoyed in Nama before its dissolution'. Numerous Government TDs highlighted the 'considerable damage' the 'Housing Tsar' scandal has caused the Coalition, with Fianna Fáil perceived to have been especially bruised. Willie Aird, Fine Gael TD for Laois, said he was opposed to Mr McDonagh receiving a salary of €430,000 to lead the Government's new Housing Activation Office (HAO), adding legislative changes to ensure he keeps that salary when returning to his former NTMA position 'does not sit well'. This sentiment was echoed by Fianna Fáil Carlow-Kilkenny TD Peter 'Chap' Cleere, who said new laws could give way to 'unfair' pay disparities. Peter Cleere / Facebook 'I would have huge concerns that any staff in Nama could go back to their previous roles and be paid significantly more than another individual doing the same job because Nama staff can keep their salaries… From a policymaker's point of view, this does not sit well,' he said. Government backbenchers are also raising concerns privately, with one TD saying the 'Housing Tsar' scandal and forthcoming laws are breeding 'continuous bad optics'. Another Fianna Fáil backbencher said there should be a review of 'astronomical salaries' being paid to executives in State and semi-State bodies. 'There needs to be an examination of this and the Comptroller and Auditor General needs to be over it,' they said. Fianna Fáil TD Naoise Ó Cearúil said he could understand 'concern or frustration' among staff in State agencies such as the NTMA, where Nama staff will be returning. Brendan McDonagh. Pic: Leah Farrell/ 'But the employees who have been seconded to Nama will be returning to their previous roles with additional expertise, and there is a value to that,' Mr Ó Cearúil said, adding that secondments between semi-Statee bodies, State bodies and Government departments should be encouraged to upskill employees and encourage an exchange of ideas. Last week, Mr McDonagh withdrew his name for consideration to be the so-called 'Housing Tsar', who would head up the new HAO. This came after Tánaiste Simon Harris blocked Mr McDonagh's appointment before it could be approved by the Cabinet's Housing Committee. Mr Harris told The Late Late Show on Friday night he did not believe €430,000 was an appropriate salary for the role. Housing Minister James Browne will report back to the Housing Committee later this month on new processes to establish the HAO. The HAO is a commitment in the Programme for Government. It stems from a similar recommendation by the Housing Commission, which called for a Housing Delivery Oversight Executive to be established. However, the Housing Commission said the new agency should have decision-making powers enshrined in legislation to remove blockages to housing delivery. The HAO has been criticised for not having powers and instead reporting to Housing Minister Mr Browne. Additional reporting by Sarah McGuinness
