Solving the Problem of Toxic Property and Construction Loans- the Case of Ireland's National Asset Management Agency.

Ireland experienced rapid economic growth between 1994 and 2004. This economic performance prompted the Economist magazine to coin the phrase ‘The Celtic Tiger’ to describe the Irish experience. However, during the ‘boom period’ banks did not have enough funds from deposits and had to rely on the inter-bank market for funds. Consequently with the collapse of the sub-prime market and the global banking crisis, the banking systems reliance on inter-bank lending resulted in toxic property and construction loans. In essence the property/construction bubble burst, the banks are broke and there is a need to rescue them. The government’s solution is to take these ‘toxic’ assets off the banks balance sheets via the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).