NBS confirms hike in mortgage ceiling

May 22, 2025 News

…interest rate on all new loans capped at 5%

Kaieteur News- The New Building Society (NBS) said on Wednesday that it has agreed with the government’s proposal to increase its mortgage ceiling from $20 million to $30 million, with interest rate capped at 5% across the board for all new loans.

This comes days after President Irfaan Ali, during his address at a Labour Day brunch hosted at State House in Georgetown on Sunday, announced that the government is pushing to increase the NBS mortgage ceiling.

The New Building Society (NBS)

President Ali had noted that the interest rate will be 5% maximum. His remarks were part of a broader message of assurance that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government remains committed to making home ownership more accessible to working-class citizens.

NBS already plays a key role in providing affordable mortgage options to Guyanese. Its existing rates of 3.5 % are for lower loans, and 5.7% for loans higher than 9 million dollars and up to the previous 20 million dollar ceiling, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/ Secretary, Anil Kishun, said in a letter to this newspaper.

Notably, this publication was informed that while the rate of 3.5% and 5.7% will remain in place for existing loans, going forward, all new loans will attract a 5% across-the-board interest rate.

Kishun, in his letter, defended the announcement by President Ali and dismissed claims that it is a political ploy. He argued that this is far from the truth. Kishun noted that NBS has been engaging the president on this matter for nearly a year. He explained the NBS had two meetings with President Ali and Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh. The discussions were not based on increasing NBS’ mortgage ceiling but also focused on matters related to the entity.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/ Secretary, Anil Kishun

Kishun said, “We highlighted to His Excellency our decision in 2022 to drastically reduce interest rates to as low as 3.5 percent and the highest being 5.7 percent. This request for the increase in the mortgage ceiling to $35M will assist many young professional applicants to own a decent home and grow their wealth.”

He underscored that as a mutual organisation, the objective of the NBS is profit sufficiency rather than profit maximization. The CEO disclosed that NBS retain earnings reserves is 20% of total assets.

“The NBS is in robust financial health to be able to sustain the increase in mortgage ceiling and new rate adjustment. More importantly, Guyanese will benefit significantly from this higher ceiling of 30 million dollars,” Kishun noted.

According to the CEO, since 2022, when NBS reduced its interest rate for every mortgage holder, they have all been benefitting from substantial rebates of in excess of $300 million annually. He added, “This is a significant benefit to borrowers, which follows our high interest rate on savings account of 2.75%. The borrowers and savers are both benefitting from our decisions in these areas of our operation. The economic situation in the country allows us to do so.”

Moreover, having recognised the need to increase the mortgage ceiling, it was stated that the Directors of NBS have unanimously sought the government’s approval for the increase of up to $35 million in its mortgage ceiling. This request was first made in June 2024. Subsequently, Kishun said that NBS agreed with the government’s proposal to increase the mortgage ceiling to $30 million.

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