MINISTER FOR Finance Brian Lenihan has named Brendan McDonagh, a director at the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), as interim managing director of the Government’s “bad bank”, the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).
Mr McDonagh, who is director of finance, technology and risk at the NTMA, has been assisting on the development of the Nama plan. The Minister said Mr McDonagh would be assisted by “a high-level advisory committee to be named shortly”, according to a statement from the Department of Finance.
“Preparatory work for the establishment and operation of Nama on a statutory basis is under way,” Mr Lenihan said. “By appointing Mr McDonagh to this position, the Government is ensuring the implementation process will be driven forward in the interim period pending legislation.”
Mr McDonagh’s appointment is likely to be confirmed when legislation establishing Nama comes into effect later this summer. The board of the agency is expected to be chaired by an independent figure known internationally.
The department said that Mr McDonagh had “played a central role in the development of the Government’s policy response to the banking crisis and in helping to frame the Nama proposal.” He has been assisting Dr Michael Somers, chief executive of the NTMA, and economist Peter Bacon, architect of the Nama plan, on the development of the bad bank scheme.
Part of Mr McDonagh’s work has been assessing the level of bad loans on the books of the guaranteed financial institutions which will be acquired by the Government under the plan, and how the new agency will operate once the loans are transferred.Originally from Killorglin, Co Kerry, Mr McDonagh (41) was NTMA financial controller from 1998 to 2002.
