Guyana opens first merchant bank in almost 30yrs

The opening of Guyana’s first merchant bank in nearly 30 years has been lauded by President Irfaan Ali as an essential step in the nation’s development. President Ali stated that the advent of this financial institution will be advantageous as the nation goes through an unprecedented phase of development at the time the New Hayven Merchant Bank was launched on Thursday night.

He emphasised that the government also needs access to affordable financing in order to fund its major projects, so the corporation shouldn’t just focus on finding financing for the private sector.

“In making capital available, we have to ensure not only accessibility,” he said, adding “the cost of capital is critical”.

The New Hayven Bank promises to assist the nation’s reform strategy while assisting small enterprises in obtaining crucial financing. Floyd Haynes, a Guyanese national living in the US who has served on Guyana’s local content advisory group and is in charge of the cost recovery audit team for ExxonMobil’s operations in the fruitful Stabroek Block, was given the licence.

According to Haynes, a fresh injection is required as Guyana grows, and cash is essential to finance the government’s ambitious transformational programme for the entire nation.