The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) said on Friday that it had redeemed a further €1 billion in senior debt and remained "firmly on course" to deliver a surplus for Irish taxpayers of at least € 2.3 billion.

In redeeming €1 billion in senior debt, Nama has reduced its outstanding senior debt to 12 per cent of the original level, bringing to €26.6 billion the amount of senior debt redeemed to date. This represents 88 per cent of the €30.2 billion of senior debt originally issued in 2010 and 2011 to acquire bank loans.

“As we have now reached 88 per cent redemption, Nama remains firmly on course to meet its ultimate target of redeeming all of its senior debt by 2018 – two years ahead of the schedule originally set when Nama began its operations – and is firmly on course to deliver a surplus for Irish taxpayers of at least €2.3 billion,” chief executive Brendan McDonagh said.

The deal is Nama’s third redemption of senior debt so far this year, bringing the total redeemed in 2016 alone to €4.5 billion. This means that Nama’s senior debt now stands at €3.6 billion, less than an eighth of its original level.