Results 20,461-20,480 of 26,430 for speaker:David Cullinane

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Mr. Long has acknowledged that. Does he accept that the field was not as level as he would have liked or he suggested?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Is Mr. Long aware of the PIMCO letter that was read into the committee's record two weeks ago by the Chairman and has he read it?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Was he surprised when he read that, as far back as April 2013, Mr. Tuvi Keinan, who worked for Brown Rudnick, Mr. Ian Coulter, who worked for Tughans, and Mr. Frank Cushnahan, who was a member of the NIAC, had approached PIMCO on the basis that they were aware of the potential of a portfolio that could be put together? They discussed the concerns of the Northern Ireland Government and so on,...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: When did Mr. Long become aware of that? We were not aware of it.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: The first time we became aware of the April 2013 approach by the PIMCO individuals was when we received this letter. If Mr. Long is saying he was aware of it before he read this, will he indicate how be became aware of it?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: That is contested. That is NAMA-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: That concerns NAMA but I am talking about Mr. Long saying he became aware of it before we knew. We had to tease out the April 2013 date in the minutes.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: When did Mr. Long become aware that Mr. Tuvi Keinan and Ian Coulter, or basically Brown Rudnick, and Tughans and Mr. Cushnahan approached PIMCO in April 2013?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: I am specifically asking about the April 2013 date because the actual issue of a loan sale portfolio was not considered by NAMA until much later.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: He is now aware that these parties were working together to approach PIMCO. Did that cause Mr. Long any concern?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: When Mr. Long found out. I am not talking about the retrospective position.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Surprised. Was Mr. Long concerned?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: But Mr. Long was never made aware of this. I want to get back to this later.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: We are concerned also. I will proceed in a moment to the conflicts of interest as to when Lazard was informed of this. If Mr. Long was concerned and surprised, he should note the information would have been valuable for Lazard to have at some point during the process. Does Mr. Long accept that?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Paragraph 4.17 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report states, "Strict confidentiality was to be maintained and potential bidders were to be prohibited from contacting the debtors."

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: I would imagine that one of Mr. Long's concerns is that we now know from the Comptroller and Auditor General's report that Mr. Cushnahan actually had an association with 50% of the debtors of the portfolio. This was a point of which Mr. Long was not made aware. Was he made aware of it?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: He was not aware of it and he is the loan sale adviser. Does that concern him?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: He is aware of it now. Much of what he is saying mirrors what he said when he knew what was happening in real time. He is still sticking to the view that it was a competitive process with no difficulties. Let me refer him to page 82 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report. Mr. Long is a professional. I have no doubt that he tried to do his job and that he did it to the highest...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: He can provide evidence, papers or letters to NAMA based only on the information he has. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (22 Nov 2016)

David Cullinane: Page 82 states that Lazard, on 2 April, provided a letter to the board of NAMA: "In its professional advisory judgment, given NAMA's objectives, the process had been appropriate ..." The process had become compromised by virtue of Mr. Cushnahan's involvement with Brown Rudnick and Tughans and their transfer from PIMCO to Cerberus. Given that Lazard did not have that information, Mr. Long is...