The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) has re-appointed receivers to 36 companies and borrowers to ease the sale of their loans.

The State agency published a series of official notices showing that it has appointed receivers to the firms, whose loans it took over from the banks in the wake of the property crash.

As it stands, the individual receivers appointed to the companies and assets involved can only act for Nama.

This could create difficulties should the agency want to sell the loans to a third party, who would then be entitled to call in the debt.

It has re-appointed all the receivers to ensure that they can act for any party that should buy the loans.

The businesses involved are in various parts of the Republic, including Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

They include Albion Properties in Dublin, Coolfadda Developers in Cork, Carmel Quay in Galway and Golden Dawn in Limerick.

Project Gem

Sources say the move should not be taken as indicating that the agency intends selling the loans.

However, Nama is set to seek bidders for €4 billion worth of commercial property loans that it has called Project Gem.

Reports recently indicate that it is likely to sell the portfolio of debt, secured against commercial properties in urban areas throughout the Republic, by the year’s end.

As the agency has sold most of its higher-profile properties, it is thought that Project Gem will be a collection of less well-known assets.