BOG deputy wants banks to make it easier for small businessmen

Mar 19, 2013 News

By Romila Boodram
Deputy Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga, is challenging local banks to change the way they do business especially with first time entrepreneurs.
Small business owners who want to expand their business have been complaining over the years about the difficulties they face in accessing financing from local banks.

GBTI’s Port Kaituma’s branch

There have been several initiatives but the complaints remain. High interest rates and other demands are of the few which scare persons away from turning to banks for financial assistance.
During the launching of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI)’s Port Kaituma, Region One branch on Saturday, Dr. Ganga noted that a small entrepreneur today can be a big one tomorrow and might as well become a multinational enterprise if given the comfort of financial support.
“We have to understand that there will be failures as well as successes. Banks will therefore have to tone up their risk assessment and risk management capacities, and provide these failures as part of their risk management,” the central bank official stated.
He said that the higher the economic growth, the role of the banking sector is poised to increase in the financing pattern of economic activities within Guyana.
“To meet the growing credit demand, the banks need to mobilise resources from the wider deposit base and extend credit to activities hitherto not financed by banks. Financial addition with financial literacy will strengthen financial deepening and provide resources to the bank to expand credit delivery to reduce interest rate spreads and enhance profitability,” Dr. Ganga stressed.
Port Kaituma is at a stage of rapid development and according to the senior bank official, the move made by the GBTI to take its services to Region One is a reflection of the agility of the bank to capture the benefits and opportunities of a growing economy.
“This branch of GBTI is obviously contributing to both financial deepening and financial inclusion and would benefit from this phrase of rising incomes in Port Kaituma, arising from an expansion of extant economic activities as well as creation of new activities,” Dr. Ganga stated.

Dr. Ganga on Saturday as he receives a token from a GBTI’s staffer

Kaieteur News understands that business profitability has revealed sustainable trends and consumer incomes are increasing rapidly. All of these developments suggest that the demand for financial services, both for saving as well as production purposes, will be greater than it has been in the past.
The senior official said that the expansion by GBTI to help deepen the financial system and widen banking reach is crucial for both accelerating growth and for equitable distribution, given the present stage of Guyana’s development.
He explained that as poverty levels decline and households have greater levels of discretionary incomes, they will be first time financial savers. They will, therefore, need to have easy access to formal financial systems to get into the banking habit.