Credit to private sector grows by $150 Billion -Finance Minister

Credit to the Private Sector grew by $150 Billion since the end of 2020, Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh has reveled.

He made the disclosure this morning at the Pegasus Suites while addressing the World Trade Center Georgetown Conference on “Banking Made Easier.”

The Finance Minister said the growth in credit to the Private Sector by the commercial banks in Guyana is simply phenomenal.

“From the end of 2020 to the end June 2024, total credit to the private sector grew from where it was at the end of 2020 at $260B, at the end of 2020, to $410B at the end of June 2024. That is in absolute terms, over the period from end 2020 to June 2024, an additional $150B of credit provided to the Private Sector by banks in Guyana,” Minister Singh said.

He said the figure represents a 58% growth rate in less than four years.

It was pointed out that credit to the private sector in the area of agriculture grew by 19.4% in 2021, 15.5% in 2022 and 14.7% in 2023, while private sector credit in the area of manufacturing, increased by 27% in 2021 to 36% in 2022 and a further increase of 15.8% in 2023.

Similar increases were recorded in the Services Sector with credit to the private sector growing by 16.4% in 2021, 15.8% in 2022 and 12.9% in 2023.

Among the banks performing exceptionally well is Demerara Bank Limited, Minister Singh said.

He said in addition to improving the accessibility of its banking services, Demerara Bank Limited (DBL) has expanded its credit portfolio.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Demerara Bank, Dowlat Parbhu said his bank entered the banking sector at a time when access to credit by the Private Sector was extremely difficult.

He said 30 years later, Demerara Bank is one of the leading banking institutions in the country, with its credit portfolio increasing by 34% in just 12 months.

“Today I can report that DBL is leading Guyana’s credit growth. Our lending increased over the last 12 months by 34% – a growth of G$24B – the highest in our history and the highest in the industry. This lending contributed to 38% of the total lending done by the banking system over the last 12 months. That is, total lending by all six commercial banks operating in Guyana for the last 12 months was $64B, and Demerara Bank contributed $24B out of that $64B,” Parbhu reported.

According to Demerara Bank CEO, his bank is now the second largest lender in Guyana with the second largest capital base. The bank can lend up to $11B to a group of companies and $6.9B to a single entity.

He said DBL is the only bank in Guyana and in the Caribbean with zero non-performing loans.

Chairman of Demerara Bank, Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) and the World Trade Centre – Georgetown, Komal Samaroo said the forum presents a 360 perspective of one of the critical factors of growth – banking services – at a time when Guyana’s economy is recording phenomenal growth.

Samaroo said Demerara Bank is the only bank in Guyana to be born out of the womb of the Private Sector of Guyana and therefore, understands the struggle and aspiration of Guyanese businesses. He said the bank has been consistently tailored its products and services to meet the needs of Guyanese businesses.

He said like Demerara Bank, the World Trade Centre- Georgetown, intends to play an important role in the development of businesses in the country.

“The World Trade Centre – Georgetown intends to play an active role in helping Guyanese businesses, especially small and medium businesses to promote their business internationally, build business connections, access markets, know how, and best practices to facilitate the growth and expansion of their businesses,” Mr. Samaroo said.

The World Trade Centre-Georgetown Conference was also attended by the World Trade Centre, Business Development Official, Robin van Puyenbroek and the Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Dr Gobin Ganga among other officials.