Results 22,521-22,540 of 34,729 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: This brings me to page 144. This concerns the documents presented to the board for its meeting on 12 December when it considered the Project Eagle portfolio disposal. In table 9 on page 144, in respect of net present value, the right-hand column uses a rate of 5.5% while the column beside it uses a discount of 2.5%. The last column in table 11 on page 145 again deals with the net present...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: I am just saying that NAMA's documentation for its board is based on a discount rate of 5.5.% or an alternative rate of 2.5%. There is no mention of running the figures at 10%.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: How does the Comptroller and Auditor General know that? How did he spot it?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: In other words or in layman's terms, getting €100 every month is a lot better than getting €1,200 at the end of the year.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: NAMA adjusted that.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: It told the board-----

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: I want to complete discussion of this discount rate. If we look at NAMA's documents, it answers all the questions. I am looking at page 111 which concerns NAMA board meeting minutes of 8 January. I referred to the December meeting. The board met again in January. Paragraph 3 is very important because this was where the minimum price was set. In the middle of paragraph 3 it is stated:In...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: Some people might be getting a bit lost. Let us look at the PIMCO bid in table 7. PIMCO has an indicative bid of £1.244 billion. Using the 5.5% discount, NAMA valued that £1.244 billion. This is in the £1.2 billion to £1.3 billion range.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: Table 11 on page 145?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: On 4 December 2013, PIMCO made an offer of up to £1.3 billion. NAMA considered that a week later on 12 December and eventually settled on a reserve of £1.3 billion. We have put the question. Does the Comptroller and Auditor General think there is a connection between the £1.3 billion PIMCO offered and NAMA setting a reserve price of £1.3 billion out of the blue?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: I will ask NAMA that question.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: The Comptroller and Auditor General can understand that the figure of £1.3 billion came from PIMCO to start with and that a few days later, it is NAMA's reserve price. NAMA will have to explain to us how there is no connection or whether there is a connection between them. My next point concerns the reply received on 3 November relating to this issue. On page 5, there is reference to...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: Is that the result of the board paper in June 2013 looking at the 5.5% rate?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: The 10% fair value discount in the 2012 statements applied at the time that the decision on offering the Eagle portfolio for the sale was being considered by the board. The board was aware that this fair value rate applied to the loan portfolio as a whole but was also aware given that the loans comprising Project Eagle were among the riskiest of all loans held by NAMA, a fair value discount...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: In other words, NAMA has qualified this in the letter of clarification in the last week by saying that had the loans been evaluated, the 10% rate would have been applicable but they did not value them. The 10% rate is based on something that did not happen.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: At the end of the day, Mr. McCarthy is satisfied with the 5.5% discount rate he has referred to in his document. We have asked NAMA to produce otherwise and there are various references in the documentation to the board to 5.5% and 2.5% and a marginal reference to 10%. We will pursue all those with the board members when they appear again. We will conclude this session. I thank Mr....

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: The committee is now back in public session. I welcome the following officials from the Department of Finance: Ms Ann Nolan, second Secretary General; Mr. Declan Reid, senior banking specialist; and Mr. Des Carville, head of shareholding management unit. I remind members, witnesses and those in the Gallery to turn off all mobile phones or ensure they are on aeroplane mode. I advise the...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: Mr. Reid is at a disadvantage.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: There is a lot of documentation.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (10 Nov 2016)

Seán Fleming: Help us again. Does Deputy Cullinane know which pile it is in?