AIB spends €28m on Nama prep
Issued : 14 March 2010
Sunday Tribune
Legal fees and other due diligence costs paid to smooth over transfer of toxic loans
AIB has so far spent €28m in preparation for transferring its toxic loan book to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).
The bank disclosed the figure in its annual report last week.
The bulk of the money was paid to legal advisers, consultants and property valuers working on the loan portfolios that will go to the agency.
The government said when it set up Nama the banks would have to pay for their own cost of completing due diligence on the loan books. The bank said the cost so far also included the work involved in getting its investors to vote at a shareholders meeting last year to sign up to the agency.
AIB is selling about €24bn of loans to Nama.
Nama has said that the due diligence costs associated with buying the loans will be €165m, which it
will be able to recoup from the banks.
Separately, AIB staff have sought an extension of the deadline for them to accept new pension contribution proposals.
The bank has set a deadline of tomorrow for staff to accept the proposals.
The Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) is seeking an extra week because some of its members have not yet received sufficient information on the changes.
The bank and the IBOA have agreed to proposals whereby members of its defined benefit pension scheme will from next month make a contribution equivalent to 4% of their salary to the scheme.
That will rise to 5% next year.
The deficit across the bank's pension schemes fell to €714m at the end of 2009 from €1.1bn in 2008.
Ian Guider
