The Government has approved the appointment of Brendan McDonagh as interim managing director of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).
Under Government proposals, assets from the banks covered by the State guarantee scheme – mainly loans for land and development – will be transferred into NAMA in order to cleanse bank balance sheets of bad loans.
Mr McDonagh is currently Director of Finance, Technology and Risk at the National Treasury Management Agency. A statement from the Department of Finance said he had played a ‘central role’ in the development of the Government’s policy response to the banking crises and in helping to frame the NAMA proposal.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said his appointment would ensure that the process of implementing the proposal for NAMA would move forward ahead of legislation. The Minister added that Mr McDonagh would be assisted by a ‘high-level’ advisory committee to be named shortly.
