Cantillon: Nama tells PAC it is ‘satisfied’ with itself

An interesting piece of correspondence from the National Asset Management Agency has popped up on the website of the Public Accounts Committee.

Sent on January 22nd by Martin Whelan, Nama's relationship manager, it contained a summary of the most recent annual evaluation of Nama's board of directors and a note on the number of loans acquired by the agency at zero consideration – it was €3.5 billion, as the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan revealed in January in response to a parliamentary question.

Back to the board evaluation. It's a self-assessment exercise, with members completing a questionnaire comprising 54 questions and 12 "thematic areas". The template is based on "good practice guidance" from the likes of the OECD, European Commission, Financial
Reporting Council, and the Audit Committee Institute.

These are returned to the secretary of the board who collates the findings and prepares a report.

The “completed” board questionnaires showed a “satisfied/very satisfied” rate of 95 per cent. The thematic rates were “similarly positive”.

However, the board members did “point to a number of issues potentially requiring attention”. These related to the desirability of continuing to have a mix of expertise and skills on the board, continuing to balance strategic, governance and information issues and reviewing agenda management, a continuing focus on succession planning, and regular rotation of the members of board sub-committees.

Whelan’s letter states that a special meeting was held in October of last year to agree an “action plan” to deal with these matters. “Some items have already been closed out and remaining items are in the process of implementation,” the letter states.

A spokesman for Nama declined to elaborate on which items have been dealt with and which ones remain outstanding.

Cantillon wonders what independent TD and high-profile PAC committee member Shane Ross will make of all of this. As accountants and lawyers have discovered in the past, Ross is not a fan of self-regulation.