Although not yet announced by NAMA (too busy counting the money from selling UK car parks? – more soon perhaps), Legal Week online magazine is reporting that NAMA has appointed nine UK law firms for a period of three years to deal with enforcement and refinancing matters. The nine firms are:
(1) Allen & Overy
(2) Denton Wilde Sapte
(3) DLA Piper
(4) Eversheds
(5) Macfarlanes
(6) Nabarro
(7) Simmons & Simmons
(8) Taylor Wessing
(9) Wragge & Co
They join 64 Irish firms on a panel for primarily due diligence. Of course Dublin firm Arthur Cox is the lead law firm acting for NAMA. NAMA claims to have achieved excellent rates for the panels of advisers and professionals appointed, and NAMA is complying with government tendering rules which apparently allowed NAMA to spend €2.45m on PwC “secondment fees” in the period up to 31st March, 2010 without any tendering whatsoever.
It will be interesting to see how NAMA demonstrate value for money in this area – if fees are being pared to the bone (the impression given by NAMA) then would Legal Week be describing the panel places as “coveted”? Legal Week report that NAMA will spend €25m on legal counsel in the coming year, presumably after due diligence in acquiring loans has been completed.
NAMA Wine Lake 
off topic
Michael o’Sullivan on Prime RTE 22 sep time was heroic, absolutely the most sensible arguement I have heard on big media. I don’t know a single thing about him, but he said it so well, …. ‘mugging, masochistic austerity, crisis, denial’…words I wish I had used myself.
Somebody tell him well done .
http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1080911
Maybe law firms these days appreciate a long run of low-paid but guaranteed and somewhat predictable work? Let’s hope that’s the explanation anyhow.
off topic 2
The source of my confusion, or worse:
The bond auction discussion seems to show that the markets believe Ireland will be able to me its debts, regardless of what happens in government, or elsewhere. Yet B.Lenihan tells us we cannot burn the Anglo bond holders, it would be ‘unthinkable’.
I doubt if the markets work in absolute certainty that Ireland will not burn the Anglo bondholders. So, the source of my confusion or worse: Is BL taking BS?
Or am I connecting two un-connected facts?
There’s a discussion over at irisheconomy.ie (link below) in which some including a user working for a financial institution which may have bid on the latest bonds give their thoughts. In short the informed view is the auction went ahead (at record rates) to demonstrate strength and maintain a momentum of going to the market each month regardless of yields. To some this is difficult to understand because we appear to be taking on long term debt at record interest rates yet BL is claiming it is uncertainty over our bailout costs which is driving rates higher and there is a commitment to clarify Anglo’s costs next week. To some it appears as if there is a disconnect in what BL says with what the NTMA does.
http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2010/09/22/how-yields-are-set-in-bond-auctions/#comment-75557