# Ireland Nama says Needs Mortgage REITs to Help Cut Leverage



## onq (26 Oct 2011)

http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...age-reits-to-help-cut-leverage-nama-says.html



> Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Ireland should introduce mortgage real estate  investment trusts to help banks and the National Asset Management Agency  offload bad debt stemming from loans made during the property boom,  NAMA Chief Executive Officer Brendan McDonagh said.
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> The CEO said he asked Finance Minister Michael  Noonan to consider allowing the REIT structure in Ireland to give NAMA  and the banks an alternative to selling debt portfolios directly



This reminds me of the "shares in a wrapper/basket of portfolios" product that Anglo-Irish produced at the start of the Noughties.

Shortly afterward I seem to recall that then Finance Minister Brian Cowen moved to close the loophole.

At the time it seemed like another way for investors to make money out of a rising property market but avoiding the payment of Capital Gains Tax.



> Mortgage REITs allow debt owners to pool commercial or residential  mortgages and sell shares to investors. They don’t pay corporation or  capital gains tax on profits from property investment, with shareholders  taxed on dividends they receive.



I'm not certain of the ultimate benefit to the taxpayer.


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