DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS ON BOARD MEMBERS

Sections 30-31 of the Act outline the requirements on members of the Board in terms of disclosure of interests.

Section 30 requires Board members to disclose to other members of the Board the nature of any pecuniary interest or other beneficial interest they may have in any matter that is under consideration by the Board. Members must absent themselves from a Board meeting while the matter is under consideration and they are precluded from any vote that may take place on the matter.

Section 31 of the Act imposes an obligation on each member of the Board of NAMA and each director of a NAMA group entity to give notice to NAMA annually of all registrable interests within the meaning given by the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995.

The members of the Board, members of committees established under Sections 32 and 33 of the Act and directors of the NAMA group entities are designated directors pursuant to the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 as amended by the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 ('Ethics Acts') and are required to comply with the Ethics Acts in respect of the disclosure of interests.

STAFF ASSIGNED TO NAMA

Staff assigned to NAMA are subject to a Code of Practice approved by the by the Minister under Section 35 of the Act, which sets out, inter alia, their obligations in respect of confidentiality and conflicts of interests including:

• Obligations of confidentiality pursuant to Section 202 of the Act, Section 14 of the NTMA Act 1990 and the Official Secrets Act 1963.
• Requirement to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003, including provisions regarding the processing and handling of personal data.
• Obligation to make a disclosure of interests pursuant to Section 18 of the Ethics Acts and Section 42 of the Act.
• Requirement to comply with the NTMA's Gifts and Hospitality policy.
• Obligations pursuant to the legislation concerning market abuse and insider dealing.
• Requirement to comply with the NTMA's Personal Account Transaction Policy in respect of transactions in certain restricted securities and property related transactions.
  
  

NAMA officers are required to sign an undertaking that they will comply with the provisions of the Code of Practice and compliance training is mandatory for all NAMA officers.

NAMA ACCOUNTABILITY

In carrying out its functions the Board of NAMA must comply with its obligations under the Act and is subject to a high level of public accountability.

1. Under the Act, the Minister has a number of powers which he can exercise in relation to NAMA, including the power to issue guidelines (Section 13) and directions (Section 14). Five directions have been issued by the Minister under Section 14 – copies are available on www.nama.ie/governance/legislation
2. NAMA submits quarterly reports to the Minister on its activities, as set out in Section 55 of the Act. This includes information about its loans, its financing arrangements and its income and expenditure. Each quarterly report is laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas.
3. NAMA submits annual accounts, in a form directed by the Minister, under Section 54 of the Act. The accounts must include a list of all debt securities issued, a list of all advances made from the Central Fund or by NAMA and its group entities and a list of asset portfolios with book value. NAMA's accounts are audited by the C&AG and the audited accounts are laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas.
4. In addition to its annual accounts, NAMA is also required to submit to the Minister, under Section 53, an Annual Statement setting out its proposed objectives for each year, the scope of activities to be undertaken, its strategies and policies and its proposed use of resources. Each annual statement is laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas.
5. The Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman, whenever required by the Committee of Public Accounts, attend and give evidence. The CEO and the Chairman also appear before other committees of the Oireachtas whenever required to do so.
6. The Minister may require NAMA to report to him at any time on any matter including performance of its functions or information or statistics relating to performance.
7. NAMA has prepared codes of practice to govern certain matters including, amongst others, the conduct of its officers, servicing standards for acquired bank assets, risk management, disposal of bank assets and the manner in which NAMA is to take account of the commercial interests of non-participating banks. The codes of practice have been approved by the Minister and are published on www.nama.ie/CodesOfPractice.
8. In accordance with Section 226 and 227 of the Act, as soon as may be after 31 December 2012, the Minister and the C&AG will separately assess the extent to which NAMA has made progress toward achieving its overall objectives and the Minister will decide whether the continuation of NAMA is necessary. Thereafter, the Minister will review progress every five years and the C&AG every three years. The C&AG's Section 226 progress report on NAMA is expected to be published in the second quarter of 2014.