Poll: Do you think Nama sold its assets off too quickly?

A new study has suggested that the Irish taxpayer missed out on up to €18 billion.

By Conor McMahon Deputy editor, Fora

A NEW REPORT has suggested that if Nama had held onto the property-linked assets on its books until now, the result would have been up to an extra €18 billion for the taxpayer.

The study was written by economist Jim Power and estate agency Lisney, and commissioned by David Daly, who was one of the first major property developers to exit Ireland’s ‘bad bank’.

It claimed that Nama threw away billions by not holding on to its assets for long enough after they were first transferred to it from the country’s failing lenders in November 2009.

The report also identified that, in many cases, overseas investment funds have been the beneficiaries, making significant returns by ‘flipping’ Irish property bought from Nama.

However, Nama’s quick-fire sales approach was part of the government’s strategy from the start.

The agency has said it was “given a very difficult job to do, which included meeting specific debt-repayment targets”. Nama’s initial bad-loan purchases were funded through government bonds, issued at a time when the Irish economy was on its knees.

With that in mind, we’re asking Fora readers this week: Do you think Nama sold its assets off too quickly?