Demerara Bank Limited on Tuesday opened its new location at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD). The facility, which is touted to become the busiest location, will serve residents of Regions Five and Four, reducing the need for persons to travel to Georgetown.
Chief Executive Officer Pravinchandra Dave noted that it was seven years since the company began looking to set up the branch as it is very difficult for some to travel to Georgetown.
The bank has already opened 1,020 new accounts since announcing its new Mahaica branch.
“This bank is going to grow and grow,” said Dr Yesu Persuad, the bank’s founder.
Dr. Persaud was lauded for choosing Mahaica for his investment.
Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh noted that the communities in that area have a strong agriculture base and he said it is a sector which needs investment and access to financial institutions as the Government aims to diversify the economy.
“We are particularly pleased to see modern services delivered in communities outside of Georgetown because we do not see the development of Guyana concentrated in Georgetown.
“Our commitment is to ensure economic and social development reaches every single region and every single community in Guyana,” Dr. Singh said.
He challenged the banking sector to make doing business easier even as the administration work to ensure the right environment is available for investments.
President Irfaan Ali noted that the Government will be looking at the lands available along the Mahaicony-Mahaica corridor to develop a diversification plan.
He said “the Government too has a responsibility to create an enabling environment and that means that we must have proper laws, good infrastructure and a supportive bureaucracy.”
“We have to ensure the banks are positioned to create capital…They have to be able to form consortiums to make them more efficient to go after the opportunities that will come,” he added.
The President noted that with the launching of a branch at Mahaica, the bank has helped in de-risking the area.
The new Demerara Bank Limited branch is fully powered by solar panels.
