The State's 'bad bank' Nama made a profit of €6m in the second quarter of the year, official figures revealed today.

The agency reported set-up costs of €7m making a €1m loss for the work it did over the first half of 2010.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the figures showed the bad bank had made significant progress to date.

"I am pleased to say that Nama is functioning well, with transparency and sound governance. The reports published today illustrate how far the agency has come in a relatively short time," he said.

Nama's first full financial statements will be drawn up for the period ending December 31.

The agency has forecast it will acquire loans with a book value of around €73bn from around 850 borrowers.

In its first set of acquisitions, Nama paid €7.7bn for loans with a book value of €15.3bn - an average discount of about 50pc. The amount paid by Nama to banks ranged from 35pc to 58pc below the book value.

Brendan McDonagh, Nama chief executive, warned it would come down hard on borrowers who refuse to work with the agency.

"Based on our experience of engagement with borrowers to date, we expect that the majority of borrowers will see the benefit of co-operating fully with us to achieve the best commercial outcome, but where they don't or won't, Nama will have no option but to start enforcement proceedings against them," Mr McDonagh said.

Meanwhile, the state's public spending watchdog, Comptroller & Auditor General John Buckley, said that Nama was performing reasonably in acquiring assets and loans.

Mr Lenihan added: "I have stressed the importance of transparency in the operation of Nama and today's report from the Comptroller & Auditor General is a key element of that transparency."

PA Media