State-funded Development Bank to come onstream in 2026 – VP

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s highly-touted Development Bank to financially support local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could become operational next year.
This is according to Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo at a press conference on Thursday. He explained that the bank would be a state-led initiative, and the administration has already conceptualised its operational model for the new term, should the PPP/C be re-elected in office at the 2025 General and Regional Elections.
“So, we already have a concept in mind how it will operate; the seed capital needed to start it off everything… We know what we’re about,” Jagdeo, who is also the General Secretary of the PPP, declared.
He added, “We are hoping to start working on it as soon as we get back into office, so by 2026 [the Development Bank would come on stream].”
Only Wednesday, President Dr Irfaan Ali, who, along with Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, is seeking a second term in office at the upcoming polls, told stakeholders at the PPP/C manifesto consultation that this Development bank would not only offer zero-per cent interest, co-financing and support access to liquidity, but will reduce the cost of borrowing and remove the collateral requirement which are burdensome to SMEs.
While this development bank initiative would be state-funded, Jagdeo explained on Thursday that it would work in collaboration with the private sector. But according to the Vice President, “we were going to focus a lot on small and medium-scale enterprises.”
However, he did not rule out larger enterprises accessing funding from the state-funded development bank. For example, a person or company with a big project could raise part of the capital from the development bank and the other part from a merchant bank.
Jagdeo noted that the low-interest terms of lending from the development bank would de-risk borrowing from institutions like merchant banks.
Already, the PPP/C government has changed local laws to allow representative offices for major international financial institutions to have a representative office in Guyana without setting up a full bank.
United States-based Citibank has already indicated an interest in setting up a representative office here. Although, the financial institution has exited the retail banking market in the entire Latin America, they have expressed interest to the Guyana Government in opening a representative office here to provide loans to Guyanese business.
“So, that would help with a lot of the big projects by Guyanese companies and others to get access to that financing for their capital projects without having to go to our local banking system,” the Vice President noted on Thursday.
Last November, Jagdeo had stated that the discussions with Citibank were ongoing, adding that the office, coupled with Guyana’s growing economy, will play a crucial role in enhancing financial services by providing access to international expertise, advanced banking solutions, and global networks.
He added that the presence of the US-based financial institution here further has the ability to boost foreign investment by increasing investor confidence in the local economy, facilitating international trade through better financial infrastructure, and supporting businesses with access to capital and resources.
Guyana’s economic transformation, fuelled by its oil boom, has made it a focal point for foreign investment.
Citibank, a leading financial services provider with operations in over 100 countries, has a reputation for supporting economic development in emerging markets. Its interest in Guyana underscores the country’s rising profile on the global stage.
Dialogue with Citibank which provides credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, commercial loans, and lines of credit, commenced back in September 2023,. In fact, a senior team from Citibank was on an exploratory visit to Guyana back in 2020.
In addition to Citibank, the PPP/C Government has also been in talks with the Bank of America on setting up a branch here. A team of representatives from the Bank of America was also in Guyana on an exploratory mission in September 2023.