NAMA claims alleged leak of information “will not have material impact on prices”

NAMA continues to come under pressure in the Dail to give an account of its actions and consequences following the alleged unauthorised removal of information by former employee Enda Farrell. On Tuesday, both the Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein finance spokespersons challenged the minister with responsibility, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan over the affair. Deputy McGrath’s oral questioning and the first of Deputy Doherty’s written questions were reported here yesterday. This blogpost deals with additional written questions from Deputy Doherty that have become available today, and which are reproduced in full below.

We get confirmation that it was indeed the 12th of September 2012 when NAMA referred the matter to both An Garda Siochana and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.  This was five weeks after NAMA became aware of the original matter, the purchase of the property in Lucan to Enda Farrell. NAMA is being coy about the Garda investigation and does not confirm if statements have been provided. Deputy Doherty asks about controls at NAMA to stop the unauthorised removal of data, and we gets an answer in the present tense and we don’t know if the controls referred to were in operation during Enda Farrell’s tenure. We learn that “NAMA has also sought orders against any of the identified third party recipients” Deputy Doherty asks how NAMA can prevent potential purchasers who may have seen unauthorised data getting an advantage over others, and the answer might flabbergast some – NAMA says that its sales process is so robust and open to competition that NAMA claims that even if a potential buyer had access to the information allegedly taken, that they wouldn’t have any advantage over other buyers!

Of course we know that NAMA has sold property off-market, including two landbanks in Cork. We also know that there is a general paucity of transactions in the State which make valuation by independent valuers very tricky. And now we are asked to believe that even if you know NAMA’s “bottom line”, the condition and history of the loan, that you wouldn’t benefit from that information. Well at least Enda Farrell should be reassured about the financial damages that NAMA might claim!

As Deputy McGrath said, the practice of selling property off-market stinks. The response provided by NAMA about the utility of information allegedly taken also stinks.

Deputy Pearse Doherty: To ask the Minister for Finance in relation to the alleged unauthorised disclosure of information at the National Asset Management Agency by a former employee, the date on which NAMA notified the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner of the alleged unauthorised disclosure; the steps NAMA has taken to minimise the impact of the alleged unauthorised disclosure on its own operations and on those of its debtors.

Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan: I am advised that the unauthorised disclosure was notified to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on 12 September 2012.

I am advised also that NAMA has instituted legal proceedings against the former employee and his spouse seeking a number of reliefs, including an injunction to prevent them from using, disclosing and/or dealing with confidential information. NAMA is also seeking a number of Court Orders, including an Order directing the former employee and his spouse to provide a full account on affidavit in respect of all confidential information that either of them has removed from NAMA.

This is to include the identity of all persons who have had access to the information or who have been made aware of its existence and/or contents and the identity of all persons to whom the information has been supplied. These proceedings are currently within the jurisdiction of the courts and I am therefore not in a position to discuss them further.

Deputy Pearse Doherty: To ask the Minister for Finance in relation to the alleged unauthorised disclosure of information at the National Asset Management Agency by a former employee, the controls National Asset Management Agency has in place to prevent a recurrence of the alleged unauthorised disclosure of information..

Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan: I am advised that NAMA employs a wide range of measures to prevent unauthorised disclosure of confidential data. These include practical measures such as the deployment of email monitoring technology to prevent email attachments from being forwarded to personal and non-corporate email accounts. IT controls also ensure that data cannot be saved from the NTMA network onto external storage devices, such as USB keys, CDs, etc. I am advised that the Board of NAMA is currently reviewing the findings of a recent investigation by Deloitte and, as part of that review, will assess the implications in terms of NAMA’s current data control procedures.

Employees assigned by NTMA to NAMA are bound by a number of statutory obligations in respect of the confidentiality of information to which they have access by virtue of their employment by NAMA. These include obligations imposed under Section 14 (1) of the National Treasury Management Agency Act 1990 and under Section 202 of the NAMA Act 2009. NAMA staff are also subject to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act 1963. Contravention of these statutory obligations constitutes criminal offences and, under Section 7 of the NAMA Act, a person who commits such offences may be liable to a substantial fine or term of imprisonment or both.

Deputy Pearse Doherty: To ask the Minister for Finance in relation to the alleged unauthorised disclosure of information at the National Asset Management Agency by a former employee, the date on which NAMA notified An Garda Síochána; and if statements have been provided to the Gardai by NAMA and if so the number of same..

Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan: I am advised that the unauthorised disclosure was notified to An Garda Síochána on 12 September 2012 and that NAMA has provided, and will continue to provide, all information required by the Gardaí as part of their investigation.

Deputy Pearse Doherty: To ask the Minister for Finance in relation to the alleged unauthorised disclosure of information at the National Asset Management Agency by a former employee, the steps NAMA has taken to ensure no potential purchaser of assets associated with its loans, derives any advantage over competing purchasers as a result of obtaining unauthorised commercially sensitive information in relation to NAMA loans..

Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan : I am advised by NAMA that it has instituted proceedings in the High Court against the former employee and his spouse seeking a number of reliefs, including an Order directing the former employee and his spouse to provide a full account on affidavit in respect of all confidential information that either of them has removed from NAMA, including the identity of all persons who have had access to the information or who have been made aware of its existence and/or contents and the identity of all persons to whom the information has been supplied.

These proceedings are currently within the jurisdiction of the High Court. NAMA has also sought orders against any of the identified third party recipients.

I am advised that the sale of assets by NAMA debtors and receivers are conducted in line with NAMA Board guidelines, a requirement of which is that disposals are conducted on a competitive basis in accordance with prevailing market practices for the asset class and jurisdiction to which the sale relates.

The guidelines require that sales agents prepare a final report and recommendation addressed to the debtor and copied to NAMA, including a summary of the marketing campaign, a list of all parties who expressed interest in acquiring the asset or were contacted during the marketing campaign and a recommendation as to the best price that is reasonably obtainable for the asset.

I am also advised that, in the case of the sale of loans or loan portfolios, it is common practice for NAMA and other loan vendors to establish data rooms which provide extensive information to potential purchasers on loans which are being made available for sale and on the collateral securing them. Potential purchasers must sign non-disclosure agreements before they are allowed to have access to such data. All potential purchasers of NAMA loans have access to the same information for any loan sales transactions being contemplated.

While the review of the unauthorised documentation is still on-going, I am advised by NAMA that the level of information available to potential purchasers is significantly more detailed than any information that might have been included in the recent unauthorised disclosure of data by a former employee of NAMA.

Therefore, NAMA does not anticipate that the recent unauthorised disclosure will have a material impact on the prices realised on its loan sales.