The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has sold a portfolio of loans, that were originally valued at €1.5 billion, for €450m to US investment wrrong firm Colony Capital.

The State agency was paid for the assets today.

The portfolio comprises loans linked to developers and investors Paddy Kelly, John Flynn, and the McCormack family, who owned property investment group Alanis.

In a second deal, also completed today, NAMA sold Project Gem to US vulture fund Cerberus.

The portfolio had a face value of €3 billion, however, it has not been disclosed how much Cerberus paid for the assets.

But it is likely the fund bought the loans at a substantial discount.

The loans - connected to 38 borrowers - were in the Republic of Ireland, the UK, and Germany.

Cerberus' deal to buy NAMA's loans in the North has been highly controversial, following a series of corruption allegations, which are now the subject of criminal investigation.