Results 3,281-3,300 of 4,350 for speaker:Bobby Aylward

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: I welcome Mr. Neporent and I thank him for crossing the Atlantic to be a witness here. He is clarifying many issues we are trying to follow up on. This is an investigation and we are trying to get clarification on what is happening. In hindsight, is Mr. Neporent happy that the purchase price gave good value for money?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Mr. Neporent said 50% of the assets were Northern Ireland based. In the loan book, were the values in Northern Ireland higher than the values in Southern Ireland and the rest of the UK or wherever the other assets were?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Was Mr. Neporent worried about it because of the political situation and the relationship with NAMA? Did he understand all that when he made the offer? Was he worried about rolling out these assets and how they would work out in the future?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Did Mr. Neporent know about Brexit coming down the line? Was it spoken about? Was he worried about the consequences if the UK voted to leave the EU? Was it a consideration?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Was he aware of Brexit coming down the line?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Most NAMA representatives said the same. As has been said already, £15 million is a lot of money. Mr. Neporent said, in hindsight, if he had the choice again he might not give them that much money. In hindsight, if he were back again, and if he were paying by the hour, what value would he put on the information they gave him? I know it is hypothetical.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: I understand. I am asking because £15 million is a lot of money and I wonder if it was value for money. Would it have been better to have paid by the hour, as was the case for other advisers, rather than paying the lump sum of £15 million?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: When Cerberus came in to bid, in February, was Mr. Neporent aware that PIMCO had originally offered £1.3 billion for the portfolio, that it had wanted to have a closed arrangement with NAMA, and that NAMA refused it and wanted to put it on the open market or on a closed market with named companies? Was he aware that the £1.3 billion was the original offer from PIMCO and was that...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Cerberus bought the loan book. We keep asking NAMA what would have happened had it rolled out an asset-by-asset sale over a longer period, and sold them individually or in small groups, rather than a loan book sale. Would Cerberus have been interested in buying the assets rolled out over time rather than buying the loan book in one go?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Cerberus had to have the critical mass, and became interested because there was critical mass.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Cerberus has been working out the loans since 2014 and has already given information about how much it has sold off. Are things going well? Does Cerberus force sales or work out arrangements with the borrowers and try to work out the assets gradually? Is Cerberus putting pressure on borrowers? Does Cerberus work it through like a bank, or does it identify an asset it wants to get rid of...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: I asked because I have heard through the grapevine that Cerberus is selling off some assets in Southern Ireland whose owners want to work them through, and that Cerberus is forcing their hands. That is speculation again.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: By when will Cerberus have all the properties in Project Eagle, which Cerberus purchased in 2014, sold off or worked through? Is there a timescale, or does Cerberus just keep going?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: In hindsight, Mr. Neporent is glad he came to Ireland and got involved.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: That is fair enough. Has Mr. Neporent any comment on the ongoing investigations which he identified, such as those of the National Crimes Agency, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, and US Department of Justice? Why does he think the investigations are happening and would Mr. Neporent like to elaborate on what he said?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Why is the USA investigation in particular taking place? Can Mr. Neporent elaborate on, or explain, it?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Was the Comptroller and Auditor General aware of that?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: Did he receive a bowl of shamrock also?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: For clarification, did PIMCO get access to the data room?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (17 Nov 2016)

Bobby Aylward: PIMCO was therefore in the data room prior to-----