Financial laws to be updated in push to improve banking sector – President

The Financial Institutions Act is among the laws that will be amended to help improve the overall banking sector in Guyana, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced recently.

The President said the government has examined the wellness of the local financial system and the supporting legislation.

Though positing that the financial system is stable and well-regulated, Dr. Ali opined that some changes are necessary to improve the overall system. This will help to attract more private sector investments, he added.

The Financial Institutions Act is one piece of legislation that will be updated.

“Very soon we want to amend the Financial Institutions Act to allow greater access to capital, to allow more sophistication in our banking sector and greater reach (and) more partnership between international investors and our local investors,” President Ali said at a press conference last week.

He added that once amended, the Act will become the most sophisticated law of its kind in the region and it will stimulate investments in Guyana.

The Act, once amended, should also allow financial institutions to have representative offices with prior approval in Guyana and should enhance the mechanism for the transfer of assets.

The Guyanese Head of State has consistently addressed the need to improve the local banking sector. For him, local banks need to work with each other and they must change their traditional model of doing business.