Nama plans to hire a chief finance officer and create a number of divisions as part of a shake-up of the agency.
Following a review by the board of Nama, chief executive Brendan McDonagh announced details of the re-organisation, which will create an asset management arm, to be led by John Mulcahy, which will take responsibility for working with debtors, receivers and joint venture partners to identify and develop and asset manage assets where value can be added.
An asset recovery division under the leadership of Ronnie Hanna will work with debtors and receivers to enhance the effective and efficient management of loan recoveries. It will be formed from the merger of the existing divisions of portfolio management, credit and lending, and corporate finance.
Finally, Sean O’Faolain will lead a strategy and communications arm.
The agency, which was created in 2009, has been criticised for its slow-moving, bureaucratic structures.
A report published in December by HSBC’s former chief executive Michael Geoghegan, who is leading a group that will advise on the future of NAMA, concluded that the agency needs to become more entrepreneurial and that its chief executive should be freed up to focus on strategy and have a dedicated deputy.
McDonagh said it would begin a public recruitment process for a full-time chief financial officer within the next week and said the “changes [would] help ensure that NAMA is correctly positioned for the challenges ahead”.
He added: “Our focus remains on recovering the maximum amount of money for the Irish taxpayer and we will continue to evolve and develop organisationally to respond to the challenges we face.”
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
