Speaking after reports that the IMF warned last April that NAMA would not boost lending levels, Fine Gael Deputy Leader & Finance Spokesman Richard Bruton TD said his Party’s plan for a National Recovery Bank is the only game in town to help consumers and businesses get access to essential credit.

“The IMF’s comments confirm that Fine Gael was right to oppose NAMA from the start. NAMA is incredibly expensive, and will be a burden on taxpayers for years to come, but is unlikely to achieve its primary goal of getting credit flowing again.

“This makes Fine Gael’s plan for a National Recovery Bank even more essential. As was achieved in France with their French Economy Financing Corporation, this wholesale recovery bank could be set up within a matter of weeks, would get credit flowing again almost immediately, and help to bring about the long-awaited economic stimulus.

“Banks are still not lending to consumers and businesses. Although NAMA will give banks access to extra funding from the European Central Bank, they are largely using it to pay down their own debts instead of boosting lending.

“However, Fine Gael’s National Recovery Bank would get credit flowing again in a short space of time, stimulate the economy and help job creation. It would do this by opening up new lines of funding to the banks themselves.

“NAMA is by no means a foregone conclusion, and has still not been signed off by the European Commission. With or without NAMA, there is an overwhelming need for a new mechanism to increase lending levels. Fine Gael’s National Recovery Bank is the only such proposal to get credit going to bankable business projects without which we cannot survive the recession.”