GE Money
NAMA could threaten jobs, says IBOA
Issued : 5 August 2009
RTE
The Irish Bank Officials Association has said it is concerned that thousands of jobs in the financial sector could be at risk due to the impact of the creation of the National Asset Management Agency on the industry.
IBOA General Secretary Larry Broderick said that once the transfer of toxic assets from the financial institutions to NAMA gets under way, it 'opens up the possibility for a major consolidation of the sector through mergers, acquisitions or closures'.
He said that the draft legislation on NAMA published last week gives additional powers to the Minister for Finance, which could greatly facilitate the consolidation process.
Mr Broderick said that while recognising that some reconfiguration of the financial services sector may be necessary, the IBOA is concerned that consolidation could be used as a pretext by senior managements to 'pursue an opportunistic cost-cutting agenda putting thousands of jobs at risk'.
The union is to seek further discussions with senior representatives of the Department of Finance, NAMA, the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank on these issues.
