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Guyana Launches First Ever Credit Information Bureau

GEORGETOWN, Guyana CMC – The Guyana government has welcomed the country’s first credit information bureau, describing it as a significant and important milestone in the development of the financial sector.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, speaking at the launch of the Icelandic based, A Credit Info Credit Bureau on Friday night, “the credit bureau is just one of the many initiatives supported by the Government of Guyana which plays a vital role in economic development.

“We have a liberalized market economy and endeavour to comply with all international best practices as far as possible. Our banking sector is stable and profitable, and we are engaged in efforts to modernize the other sub-sectors in the financial market such as insurance and pension plans,” he told the launch.

Hinds said that the credit bureau was critical to the expansion of credit in any economy, as it provides the opportunity of overcoming some of the information asymmetries that prevent lenders from assessing risk profiles.

“A credit bureau collects details on a borrower’s obligations from various sources to produce a comprehensive credit report which can be used by potential creditors,” he said, noting these reports could then be used by financial institutions to support their lending and risk management functions,.

He said these actions will result in faster processing, more responsible lending and easier access to financing.

Hinds, who was deputizing for President Donald Ramotar, who is out of the country, said greater access to financing was a key component of the government’s aim of enhancing financial inclusion and can be pivotal to reducing poverty in Guyana.

“There is strong evidence to suggest that the extension of appropriate financial services to the underserved and disadvantaged can help improve household welfare and spur small business activity, thus aiding in alleviating poverty and hunger”.

He said that no citizen should be excluded from economic opportunity and financial inclusion is an effective instrument to bridge this gap

Prime Minister Hinds said that the government would continue to seek ways to reduce impediments to foreign investors who are keen to invest locally as this will contribute to the development of Guyana.

In his address, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, reiterated that the government was committed to the development of the financial sector  and that the Deeds Registry, is being digitized in terms of records for enhanced accessibility.

He also urged stakeholders to push for the ratification of the Anti Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Bill which has been stalled by the Parliamentary Opposition.

Canadian High Commissioner, Dr. Nicole Giles, described the launch as of the credit bureau as a “momentous occasion” and said that her country, which also played a key role in helping to craft regulations and shared guidance for culmination of the bureau’s operations, was very committed to assisting Guyana and other countries in strengthening their financial sectors by ensuring accountability and best practices.

She said the foundation of the credit bureau heralds a new chapter in the credit appraisal process.

“One that is responsive to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector. SMEs consistently cite access to credit as one of the greatest operational barriers to flourishing business. SMEs are a significant contributor to the global economy; often employing more than 60 percent of the workforce, yet this sector is considered high risk and largely underserved by the financial community”.

The Canadian diplomat said that a major contributor to this is the lack of information about SMEs’ credit history.

“With a credit bureau, SMEs will now be able to use their positive credit history as ‘collateral’ to access loans at better rates, and seek more competitive terms from lending institutions. This will in turn allow the hardworking merchant, who has consistently paid hers or his bills and loan payments on time, to negotiate a line of credit on favourable terms to expand business and capture new opportunities”.

The diplomat said that access to credit is an important priority for Canada’s development cooperation in the Caribbean, adding it is a key building block to establish more receptive frameworks for entrepreneurship and private sector investments which, in turn, are crucial for sustainable economic growth.

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