THE Republic's finance minister told Peter Robinson there was "only one potential buyer" for Nama's northern debt portfolio months before the sales process had formally begun, documents reveal.
Details of Michael Noonan's September 2013 meeting with Mr Robinson and then finance minister Simon Hamilton are contained in minutes taken by the DUP leader's private secretary, which were released to members of the Stormont finance committee this week.
According to the document, the first minister highlighted a "particular concern" regarding the sale of Nama's loans in the north.
"Mr Robinson was concerned that if Nama moved to sell the NI portfolio, in order to meet its statutory obligation of achieving maximum value for the ROI taxpayer, the sale would have to be conducted on the open market," the minutes state.
"Mr Robinson felt this would attract buyers who would only be interested in turning a quick profit and thereby potentially devastating the economy."
The portfolio was sold for £1.24bn to US investment fund Cerberus in March 2014.
In July this year, independent TD Mick Wallace alleged that £7m lodged in a offshore bank account was destined for a Northern Ireland politician.
In what is thought to be a reference to a draft memorandum of understanding that was later sent by the first minister's office to Nama, the DUP leader told Mr Noonan at the Stormont Castle meeting that one potential buyer had outlined a "range of conditions it would self impose in order to benefit the local economy".
Responding to the first minister's concerns, Mr Noonan said that despite its commercial mandate, Nama had a "range of social obligations" and pointed out that conditions could not be imposed on a buyer following the sale.
At the time of the meeting, the formal process leading to the sale of Nama's northern debt portfolio had not yet begun.
However, Mr Noonan is recorded as indicating that "whilst there could be no exclusivity clause there was in his view only one buyer".
At this stage of process an unsolicited approach had been made to buy Nama's northern debt book via a letter to previous Stormont finance minister Sammy Wilson from Brown Rudnick, a US law firm. Brown Rudnick's approach was on behalf of two companies, one of which was Pimco.
But in a written answer to a question from Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín less than a week after the Belfast meeting, Mr Noonan failed to mention any potential sale of Nama's northern debt portfolio.
Mr Tóibín had asked about the content of ministerial meetings in Northern Ireland on September 27 2013.
An extensive response mentions discussions around the Stormont executive's concerns about a 'fire sale' and Nama's "strong level of engagement" with stakeholders in the north.
Mr Noonan also reports how the Millmount development in Dundonald and a number of Belfast office developments were discussed, but there is no indication in his Dail answer that a process to dispose of the Nama's northern loan book was imminent or underway.
The Irish News asked the Department of Finance in Dublin whether it believed the minutes taken by the first minister's private secretary were an accurate reflection of the discussions but it declined to respond to the specific query.
A spokesman for Mr Noonan's department said the minister had stated that it was Nama's policy that its northern loan book should be openly marketed and he did not favour granting exclusive access to any potential buyer.
