Probe ongoing into exploitation of foreign currency availability in local banks – Pres Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali has revealed that a probe is ongoing into the possible exploitation of foreign currency availability in the local banking sector.
Foreign currency is used for a number of purposes, including to finance imports into the country.
On Sunday, President Dr Irfaan Ali in a Facebook Live explained how the country’s rapid economic expansion is impacting its foreign currency reserves.
He explained that from 2019 to date, there has been tremendous increases in the importation of a wide variety of items into the country.
“Motorcars, are at 264% that is a direct result of more disposable income, more affordability, more disposable income in the pockets of people. There’s more affordability. More people can now own their own cars…We have seen that between 2019 and 2024, there’s a 317%, 317% growth in credit card and debit card usage. And that is, what is it used for? To purchase consumer goods and services.”
To ensure the country pays for all its imports, President Ali explained that the Bank of Guyana’s supply of foreign currency to commercial banks has grown significantly over the years. He also added that they are paying key attention to systems that can possibly be exploiting Guyana’s currency availability.
“Between 2019 and 2024, the sale to commercial banks by the Bank of Guyana, [had] a growth of 1,744%. That is a foreign currency sale from Bank of Guyana to the commercial bank to help support this growth and expansion in the economy that I’ve been talking about. Of course, we’re also looking to see where other systems might be exploiting our currency availability in the local banks too, and that’s an ongoing issue.”
However, the Head of State noted that the government is investigating any exploitation of the system. The President’s remark comes as the local business community continues to complain of a shortage of foreign currency on the market.
“We have to see whether there are other markets that are buying through our system for their markets, and that is something that we are looking at, of course, as I speak to you so you can see here that in order to ensure the commercial bank and the system has that US dollars to support this expansion, the sale to commercial bank by the Bank of Guyana has grown by 1,744%.”
Earlier this month, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kester Hutson had contended that whether or not officials fully acknowledge the severity of this problem, the reality remains that businesses are struggling due to difficulties in accessing foreign exchange promptly.
Hutson strongly urged the Government to address this issue at its core.
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had recently explained that while the Central Bank can inject as much as US$300 million into the market at any time now, the government is wary of leakages.
For example, Trinidadian companies using the Guyana market to make payments for goods and services back home given the Twin Island Republic’s restrictions on foreign exchanges, which can take as much as six months to be released there.