AIB transfers first Nama loans

AIB has transferred the first tranche of loans to the National Asset Management Agency at a revised discount of 42 per cent.

The bank swapped loans with a nominal value of €3.29 billion for Nama securities worth €1.9 billion.

This represents a loss of €1.4 billion on this tranche of loans. AIB is transferring a total of €23 billion.

Nama originally planned to apply a 43 per cent discount to the loans transferred from AIB but this was amended following the completion of data checks and once foreign exchange movements were taken into consideration.

The 42 per cent “haircut” remains above the consensus 35 per cent estimate anticipated by analysts before the first tranche of loans were transferred last week.

AIB has been given until the end of the year to raise at least €7.4 billion from asset sales and other fundraising or else cede a significant majority stake to the Government.

Last week Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said the bank would need “at least” €7.4 billion.

The bank is considering selling its overseas assets – its UK business, its 25 per cent share in US bank MT and Bank Zachodni WBK in Poland – although the Minister said the anticipated capital raised will not be sufficient to address the full requirement.

AIB has also been asked to submit a capital-raising plan to the regulator by the end of the month.

At 4.45pm shares in AIB were trading up 3 per cent at €1.24 with more than 7 million shares traded.