THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the transfer of the first tranche of loans to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).

The transfer of the impaired bank loans was authorised under EU state aid rules, with the commission describing it as an “appropriate means of remedying a serious disturbance”.“In particular, the transfer satisfies predefined transparency and disclosure requirements, the assets fulfil the criteria for participation in the scheme, and their valuation complies with the requirements of the commission’s guidance and results in adequate burden-sharing.”

The average discount applied to the first €16 billion tranche of loans was 47 per cent. Since then, a second tranche of loans has also been moved into Nama from four institutions. The second transfer took place last month and involved loans worth €5.2 billion, which were acquired by Nama at a weighted average discount of 48 per cent. Nama won approval from Brussels under EU state-aid guidelines in late February. – (Additional reporting: Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)