Irish 'bad bank' to repay state loan early

Ireland's "bad bank" set up to buy toxic mortgages from severely troubled lenders will soon pay off its final government loan, three years ahead of schedule, it said Friday.

The state-run National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), formed in 2009 after the near-collapse of Ireland's economy, originally had a total of 30.2 billion euros of senior notes -- or state-guaranteed debt.

NAMA said in a statement on Friday that it was poised to repay its final 500-million-euro ($593-million) loan to Dublin.

"This final transaction will complete the full redemption of the 30.2 billion euros of government guaranteed senior debt originally issued by NAMA in 2010 and 2011 to acquire bank loans," the group said.

"It means that NAMA has met its primary commercial objective of redeeming its guaranteed senior debt and eliminating the associated contingent liability of the government."

NAMA acquired loans with a nominal value of 74 billion euros at heavily discounted prices from banks and building societies, with the aim of getting the best return for the state over an expected lifetime of up to 10 years.

Ireland's banks were heavily exposed when the nation's property bubble burst and house prices almost halved.

Source: AFP