NAMA’s former Head of Lending, Graham Emmett is a bit of a strange fish. He quit the Agency suddenly last January 2012, and in February 2012 a LinkedIn page emerged (pictured above) with Graham’s apparent profile with a current status of “Gone Fishing and Gardening” and recently he has become a partner in a British company, ICG Longbow, that has done business with NAMA. He spoke with the Sunday Independent in September 2012 and in an article titled “Exec quit NAMA ‘because of state interference’” Ronald Quinlan quoted Graham Emmett saying “It’s not just that. It’s the minimum salary and the requests for [pay] reductions and the long-term incentive plan, the whole gamut. It’s not just to do with bonuses”
Long-term incentive plan?
Apparently not, as yesterday the Sinn Fein finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan about any such “long-term incentive plan” and the Minister says NAMA doesn’t “currently” operate any such plan. So, did all the fishing and gardening deaden Graham’s memory of his times in NAMA? Somehow I don’t think we’ve heard the last of the Graham Emmett/NAMA story…
The full partliamentary question is here:
Deputy Pearse Doherty: To ask the Minister for Finance if the National Asset Management Agency operates a so-called long-term incentive plan as part of its remuneration package offered to some employees; if he will provide an outline of the scheme and indicate the sums of money potentially on offer to employees benefiting from such a plan..
Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan : I am advised by the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) that it does not currently operate what the Deputy describes as a “long-term incentive plan” as part of its remuneration package offered to employees.
Technically NAMA does not have any employess,he is correct but does the NTMA which was Emmett’s employer?
I’m sure he knew what the question referenced but……
I’m beginning to think Mr Doherty is a regular reader of this blog. It is good to see someone getting some pointed questions in however.
From the general tone of his remarks, my suspicion is that his complaint was with the *lack of* a long-term incentive plan.
His new shop has a lot of partners,I’m sure with long term incentive plans.They may not have even made it into NAMA being so undersized for all that talent !
“At 31 March 2012 ICG-Longbow had £300 million of third party funds under management.”
http://www.icglongbow.com/ourfunds/Pages/our-funds.aspx
It’s basically a mezz shop,in fairness good timing but that marketplace or sector,gets crowded very quickly squeezing returns and spreads.
High risk high reward lending,but they using OPM so maybe a 20% kicker after high IRR rates,investors in these want decent returns for this level of risk.
In fact,on the 25,000,000 loan they just purchased from NAMA,there is a mezz piece from Merrion,subject to ongoing litigation.
Must be some adjustment,from what a 70 BILLION company to a ehm 300 million one,oh well small little shops suit certain people I guess.
They could have an amazing long term incentive plan as he was clearly distraught at the one at NAMA,almost emotional in the Sindo,I was teary eyed reading it……
Wow, 300 million “under management”. That is what Goldman Sachs spends on fresh flowers.
@NWL
“I am advised by the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) that it does not currently operate what the Deputy describes as a “long-term incentive plan” as part of its remuneration package offered to employees.”
What a brilliant answer! The sheer Irish genius of the person who drafted that answer. The Gobán Saor would be proud of that answer. Let’s dissect it a bit.
“that it does not currently operate”. Not today, but maybe yesterday, and maybe next week, but not currently! So we now we know, or do we?
what the Deputy describes as a “long-term incentive plan” . Watch the quotes here. They could be very important. It could just be operating an incentive plan, neither short-term or long-term. Or it may not be called an incentive plan at all. They could be offering a retention incentive.
Either way, I do not believe that Deputy Doherty received the most comprehensive ‘ of answers to his question.
employees dont need an incentive plan they could fund a pension many times from the salaries they recieve