Results 1-20 of 43 for nama speaker:Peter Burke

Report of the Committee of Public Accounts re National Asset Management Agency’s sale of Project Eagle: Motion (29 Mar 2017)

Peter Burke: ...days of evidence. Any State body needs to be able to demonstrate fully that it got value for money for the State and, unfortunately, due to inadequate record keeping, which has been accepted by NAMA, the Committee of Public Accounts had a limitation of scope in assessing this. Decisions were recorded but discussions were not. In a State agency where sensitive loan sales take place,...

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)

Peter Burke: My concern is in terms of the value-for-money audit. We are checking everything that is in the board. We are checking the data and backup, or lack thereof, NAMA has had for its decision. Mr. McCarthy's scope is to get the backup for the discount rate NAMA chose. It had cited different discount rates in the past which were lower than the one it chose for the portfolio. This is the...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)

Peter Burke: I wish to focus on the Comptroller and Auditor General's previous audits of NAMA because this is a very important issue. Mr. McCarthy can confirm that he is a permanent member of NAMA's audit committee. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)

Peter Burke: I will move on to Lazard and its engagement with NAMA. This obviously is a very narrow focus in my view, just from reading the report, but in terms of NAMA's engagement with it in terms of the initial briefing it gave, there does not seem to be written evidence of it. Why is this?

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)

Peter Burke: I understand what Mr. Long is saying. He is saying that Lazard's job was to assist NAMA in achieving its objectives. What I do not understand is how he can put that as one with not questioning the process by which NAMA was constraining itself, which Mr. Long has already said was unusual in terms of the 50 sales in which Lazard has been involved.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Peter Burke: Mr. McDonagh refers to "extensive and patient engagement" in the context of local authorities and getting sites ready. The take-up by local authorities of NAMA properties for social housing was only 40%. In terms of the jigsaw that is the housing crisis, what is Mr. McDonagh's view of how the local authorities are dealing with the issue in the context of NAMA's engagement with them?

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)

Peter Burke: What teeth does the Minister have under the NAMA Act to direct it? If he believes a major sale was not conducted appropriately, where, in terms of good practice, it has failed to display that there was sufficient competitor tension and where he believes things were not done in a comparable way to other major sales, what teeth does he have to direct NAMA? Does he have any role in that regard?

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)

Peter Burke: ...The witnesses stated there was not an option to work out the loans together with the supporting for the discount rate. This is where the issue is confused. All the back-up work done in respect of NAMA's formal strategy and the information in Appendix C, which was produced to the board on 12 December 2013, indicate that the work-out period was to 2020 and this is in line with NAMA's...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)

Peter Burke: I thank the witnesses for appearing before the committee. I will first focus on the change in strategy to group all of the assets. Obviously, it was the biggest loan portfolio sale NAMA had undertaken at that point and it was a huge change in strategy to group all of the assets. I note from the Comptroller and Auditor General's report that there is no detail of the other options discussed...

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)

Peter Burke: In his opening statement Mr. McCarthy commented that he had spoken to NAMA's sister audit office in the United Kingdom and got advice from it on the report, and Northern Rock was used as an example. Mr. McDonagh said in his opening statement that, at the time, experts were sought on the valuation of assets in dealing with Northern Rock. I am beginning to understand now why Mr. McCarthy did...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Peter Burke: I thank Mr. McDonagh. It obviously shows a huge amount of progress on our overseas property and loan portfolio. Obviously, when an organisation such as NAMA is acquiring in excess of 12,000 loans, there will always be public commentary and debate on aspects that people deem controversial. It was very clear from the NAMA Act, however, that assets were to be disposed of judiciously and 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)

Peter Burke: ...is one issue about which we have had a significant argument. In terms of the process, the way board meetings were dealt with, how decisions were recorded and the backup given, the discount rate NAMA was recommending to the board as late as June 2013 was lower than 5.5% at 2.5%, in other words, a greater discount rate essentially involved an increased risk to the taxpayer. I note the...

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)

Peter Burke: Will Mr. McCarthy provide more detail? NAMA is a large State institution charged with delivering large numbers of loans from the banks and trying to make a profit for the taxpayer. How many meetings does his staff attend each year?

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (29 Sep 2016)

Peter Burke: Just to be clear because I am getting confused on this, does NAMA have a written brief that it gave Lazard? It is a "Yes" or "No" answer.

Public Accounts Committee: Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General: National Asset Management Agency Sale of Project Eagle (Resumed) (16 Nov 2016)

Peter Burke: Would Mr. McGuinness not concur that, basically, the Minister has no jurisdiction over making an operational decision within 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)

Peter Burke: So Lazard took NAMA's judgement and proceeded on the basis that it only wanted to sell the asset. Value was not a concern. It just wanted to get the asset sold.

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)

Peter Burke: I have three brief final points. In respect of 13 February when there was a loss of confidentiality, should Lazard not have considered amending the sales approach or advising NAMA to carry out a risk assessment at that point?

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)

Peter Burke: ...of bulking everything together, etc. - changed. Would it not have been prudent at that point to assess the situation? The information had changed and there had been a breach in something that NAMA held dear.

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)

Peter Burke: When Blackstone, Starwood and Oaktree were admitted, were any advised by NAMA as potential clients or was it done through Lazard?

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)

Peter Burke: Were those three suggested by NAMA?