NAMA no longer considering deal with Daly on transfers
property
NAMA is understood to have taken any deals with developer David Daly over asset transfers with his wife off the table.
Mr Daly, associated with Albany Homes and Trident Homes, has been in negotiation with NAMA since last year, with both sides discussing €80m of transfers made in 2009 by him to his wife, Mary.
At one point in those negotiations, NAMA sought to have €17m of cash transferred to Mrs Daly made available to NAMA.
It was also suggested that some of these funds could be left with Mrs Daly. However, it is not clear that the €17m has remained in cash since its transfer.
But the Irish Independent understands that previous deals that involved Mrs Daly keeping some of the assets are no longer being considered.
A judgment this week by Justice Michael Peart also revealed that, coming into the financial crisis, AIB, the lender to Mr Daly and his children, increased the margin it was taking on his loans, despite what was then becoming a "difficult relationship".
This is the description offered of the relationship between the Dalys and AIB by NAMA.
A loan officer with NAMA, named in the Peart judgment as Harry McIntyre, said it was not necessarily correct that AIB had given its full support to Mr Daly and his investments.
"In that regard, he points in particular to the fact that, from August 2008 onwards, the relationship between Mr Daly and AIB became difficult, and that the bank sought additional security and increased margins in view of the difficult market conditions that then prevailed," Mr McIntyre is quoted as saying.
In relation to asset transfers Mr Daly has said they were made after tax advice and were not unlawful in any way.
The Peart judgment said: "It is quite clear from the correspondence between NAMA and Mr Daly and his advisers that NAMA regarded it as fundamental to any consensus on a way forward that these assets would be transferred back by Mary Daly so that they would be available to NAMA."
"While there was some narrowing of the gap, for instance by NAMA agreeing to a transfer back of only €10m of the €17m cash, Mary Daly was not willing to transfer back all of the assets which NAMA desired.
"Mr Daly believes that this is the main reason why NAMA was unwilling to reach agreement with him."
However, NAMA has disagreed with this and described the cash issue as just one important issue.
- Emmet Oliver, Deputy Business Editor
Irish Independent
