Under PPP/C more Guyanese can afford to take, pay back loans – VP Jagdeo

As a result of strategic planning and implementation by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, more Guyanese can now afford to take out loans and honour their repayment, according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday.
He was at the time rejecting the contents of an article in the local media which, he says, can undermine the confidence of the banking system in Guyana.
The article states that the New Building Society (NBS) made less money in 2023 when compared to previous years, despite disbursing more than $19 billion, the most ever. The article credited this reduction in profits to the reduction of interest rates to as low as 3.5 per cent, following a meeting with President Dr Irfaan Ali.
However, the Vice President asserted that the President did not direct the financial institution to reduce its interest rates, but rather, “President Ali has been urging all of the institutions to ensure people can afford mortgages”.
Jagdeo also reminded that the NBS was set up to provide affordable mortgages to people and was not necessarily a profit-making venture, adding that in the 90s, the mortgage interest rate ranged between 37 per cent and 40 per cent thus making it impossible to borrow.

During his weekly press briefing, he outlined that the Government fixed the macroeconomy when it got into power and as a result, interest rates started to decline.
Because of the interventions, Jagdeo pointed out that thousands of Guyanese have started to and continue to own their homes.
Presently, the Vice President noted that similar strategic planning and implementation are being rolled out to ensure citizens continue to benefit.
“People can borrow at a cheaper rate in Guyana on these low-income mortgages at NBS than they can borrow in the United States of America now. When we were 40 per cent, the US was three per cent and four per cent in the past. Now, you can borrow cheaper in Guyana, than in the United States of America… people should be proud of this,” Jagdeo expressed.
Moreover, he highlighted that by reducing the interest rates, borrowers are getting to save. In fact, he said some 14,000 Guyanese, through the NBS alone, saved some $800 million in reduced payments on their mortgages.
“That is a success story that should be applauded,” Jagdeo asserted.
Meanwhile, the Vice President revealed that in 2020, mortgages for private dwellings stood at $82.7 billion and this year, mortgages stand at $108.6 billion.
Additionally, he noted that in 2019, non-performing loans in the banking system were 12.1 per cent and this year, that fiure is 2.7 per cent which is evidence that borrowers are repaying their loans.