Nama to re-tender contract to manage former Anglo loans

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) last night announced a new tender for servicing any remaining IBRC commercial loans not sold by Anglo Irish Bank’s special liquidator KPMG.

In July 2013, Certus, the largest bank services outsourcing company in Ireland, was named as the preferred bidder to manage these loans, which then stood at €22 billion.

Certus said at the time it expected to create up to 300 new jobs as a result.

However, the success of the KPMG sale process has fundamentally changed the proposed contract.

Investor interest
In a statement, Nama said: "Based on the sales carried out to date by the special liquidators and on the level of investor interest in the other IBRC portfolios currently for sale, Nama has been advised by the special liquidators that the volume of commercial property loans transferring to Nama could now be substantially less than initially envisaged."

To date, KPMG has sold off almost all loans relating to the old cashflow business of Anglo Irish Bank relating to companies including Topaz and Davy Stockbrokers.

This loan book had a face value of €2.5 billion and KPMG secured buyers for all but three loans in the portfolio code- named Project Evergreen.

“It is also considered likely that a large proportion of the commercial property loans which do transfer will be those of debtors with smaller debt exposures,” Nama also said in its statement.

'Fundamental changes'
"Given the fundamental changes to the size and characteristics of the commercial property loan portfolio now likely to be acquired by Nama, the Nama board has decided to launch a new tender process for the provision of primary and special services on this portfolio," the state property agency added.

On January 15th, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said the liquidator selling assets left behind by Anglo Irish Bank is likely to offload at least half of them before the remainder is moved to Nama.

“The quantum that is under the control of the special liquidator is about €12.6 [billion]. I think, on the special liquidator’s sale of assets at present; it looks as if he’ll sell at least half of that, maybe more,” Mr Noonan told the Oireachtas select sub-committee on finance.

“That’s a rough estimate . . . but the expectation . . . is that €6 billion of that will be bought before it’s transferred to Nama,” Mr Noonan said.

Shrunken portfolio
Nama plans to issue new tender documents in respect of the shrunken former Anglo portfolio today.

Certus is expected to be among the bidders in the new tender. It currently services various British and Irish banks, including Lloyds Banking Group, AIB and Permanent TSB.

Property Week, a British magazine, said last week that three international funds are circling two of IBRC's remaining loan portfolios.

It said Lone Star, Cerberus and Apollo are lining up bids for Projects Rock and Salt, two loan portfolios worth €7.8 billion in total. Loans in these portfolios include £27.6 million of debt secured against the Stadium of Light, the football ground of Sunderland FC.