The National Asset Management Agency will seek to cut its staff numbers by two-thirds over the next two years as it plans towards winding down.
Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh told staff last Friday that a redundancy programme would be offered, with the goal of cutting staff numbers from 370 to 125 by the end of 2016.
The redundancy programme is the clearest signal yet of the wind-down of Nama activities as it accelerates the sell-off of assets and repays debts it took on when it was founded.
Nama aims to repay 80 per cent of its senior debt by the end of 2016. On current trends could have all its senior debt repaid by the end of 2018.
In Friday’s briefing, Mr McDonagh told staff that this run-down in activity would inevitably mean staff cuts, even allowing for the agency’s ongoing property development role.
Two phases
The redundancy programme is to take place in two phases, according to a Nama spokesman. The first group of staff will leave towards the end of this year, reducing numbers to around 290, and the second group late in 2016.
Nama will seek to hold on to staff with the right mix of skills to complete its work. The timing of further phases of redundancy beyond 2016 would depend on “business requirements”, the spokesman said,
As Nama was only established in late 2009, employees don’t have lengthy service. It was set up to assume the large commercial property development loans from the banks, taking assets with a book value of €77 billion.
Pace pick-up
Nama increased the pace of its asset sales significantly in the last 18 months and by the end of 2014 had paid down 55 per cent of its senior debt. This put it about two years ahead of its original schedule.
The wind-down and redundancy programmewill not affect Nama’s ongoing relationship with borrowers of the loans it is managing. The agency has also taken on a role in developing an area of the Dublin Docklands and in the development of residential property in some areas.
Nama has sold nearly €19 billion of assets since its inception, of which close to €8 billion were sold in 2014, reflecting strong international demand for Irish commercial property assets.
It expects to maintain this scale of sell-offs in 2015, provided international demand remains strong.
