‘Discomfort’ as CoI shares in NAMA holding company are revealed

Concerns have been raised after it emerged the Church of Ireland (CoI) is a shareholder in the holding company behind NAMA, with a priest saying he would hate to think that the Church would profit from peoples’ misfortune.

In an answer to a parliamentary question Finance Minister Pascal Donohue revealed that the Representative Church Body and the Church of Ireland Clergy Pensions Fund hold a 5.75% stake in the holding company of NAMA.

Rector Stephen Neill, of Celbridge and Straffan with Newscastle-Lyons, said it was “an area of potential concern”.

Reaction

“Certainly my initial reaction was one of discomfort. I would want to investigate it further before I would make a judgement call on it, but certainly it’s something that we should look into further as a Church – see what it actually means and what the implications are,” he told The Irish Catholic.

Fr Neill said he does not claim to understand the nature of investment policy, but added: “Obviously I would hate to think as a Church we would profit as an institution on the misfortune of others.”

National Asset Management Agency Investment Limited (NAMAIL) is the holding company, established in 2009.

A UK hedge fund, Walbrook Capital, acquired a 17% stake in NAMAIL in 2012 at a large discount, and continue to hold 11.25%. It is believed investors have received millions of dividend to date.

A spokesperson for the CoI said: “The Church of Ireland takes a principled view of investments and considers them against return, risk and ethics.

“The investment in the NAMA holding company was considered against each of these grounds and was considered to be a suitable one.”