Bad bank to take over €3bn in US properties
NAMA will employ 35 estate agents to value toxic assets
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THE State's 'bad bank' expects to take control of around €3bn worth of land and property in the US.
The move is part of the massive recovery operation aimed at saving the financial system and kick-starting the economy.
It emerged last night that Irish developers invested huge sums of money in developments in "major cities" in the US.
A further €25bn was spent on land and properties across the UK.
This means that almost one-third of all bad loans being taken over by the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) are based in the UK and US.
NAMA has yet to say how much Irish banks lent to fund developments on mainland Europe.
The bad bank is expected to take over up to €90bn worth of toxic loans from the banks over the next year, in the process becoming one of the biggest property owners in the world.
Documents published yesterday also revealed NAMA expects to employ up to 35 estate agents over four years to value thousands of properties here and abroad which will be taken over from October.
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), which is seeking the valuers, still refuses to say what proportion of assets are development land, vacant properties, investments or hotels.
But the agency has, for the first time, indicated how much of the €90bn toxic debt is based abroad.
"It is estimated the Great Britain portfolio of loans which may be eligible for acquisition by NAMA is approximately €25bn. No further detail on the composition of this portfolio will be made available at this time," the agency said.
"It is estimated that the USA portfolio of loans which may be eligible for acquisition by NAMA is approximately €3bn."
Irish developers went on a property spending spree in the UK and further afield during the Celtic Tiger years, investing in city centre land banks, hotels and office blocks.
But as the worldwide recession hit, the value of many properties plummeted and many have struggled to make repayments on their massive loans.
Up to 35 estate agents will be hired to put a current market value on properties which will be taken over by NAMA from October.
Valuers will work in seven geographic areas -- Ireland (national coverage), Connacht, Leinster and Dublin, Munster, Ulster, the UK and "major cities" in the US.
Crisis
However, NAMA has not ruled out seeking valuers to work on mainland Europe, where Irish developers also invested heavily .
Estate agents have until Monday to submit expressions of interest in carrying out the valuation work.
They are being recruited on a so-called "accelerated basis" because of the "exceptional nature of the current banking crisis".
"On the direction of the Finance Minister, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) wishes to retain real estate valuation services for NAMA," the tender says.
"It is anticipated that services will be required from October 2009 and will continue throughout the process of asset acquisition by NAMA which will continue until at least June 2010.
"It is not possible to quantify or estimate in advance the volume or the frequency of valuation work that will be required," the tender adds.
One company who expressed an interest said it found that between 2005-2008 there had been a "large number of individuals and investment syndicates" investing in Germany, particularly in Berlin.
The tender said that expressions of interest in mainland Europe could be the subject of a further tender process.
Alan Shatter: Page 24 Martina Devlin
- Paul Melia
