Govt in talks with Bank of America, Citibank to enter local market

The Guyana Government is currently wooing several international financial institutions as it seeks to expand the local market, and according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, engagements are currently ongoing with at least two major United States-based commercial banks on expanding their services here.
The two banks in question are Bank of America and Citibank.
“We are developing our [financial] market. Our market will become more sophisticated in the future, the financial services will be much more robust, and the financial services will be extended. So, these major financial institutions are all coming. We had not only meetings with the Bank of America but we had a lot of ongoing meetings with Citibank and other banks across the globe,” the President revealed during a press conference on Saturday morning at State House.
Only on Thursday, President Ali along with Senior Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat met with representatives from the Bank of America, who were in Guyana on an exploratory mission.
The visiting delegation included the Managing Director – Global Energy Corporate Banking, Donald Ward Rickertsen; Managing Director – Head of Global Export Agency Finance, Patrick William Gang, and Director – Regional Corporate Banking, Diego Armando Torres-Luna.
Asked about that meeting, the Head of State told this publication that he indicated to the Bank of America officials that his Government is looking to have another commercial bank of international standing operating in Guyana.
“The meeting with the officials from the Bank of America is exactly what we’re having every day. We’re having every single major financial institution, every single major multinational business coming to our shores looking at opportunities, looking at how they can contribute to the development of our country [and] looking at the space through which they can operate.”
“So, Bank of America came and, examined opportunities that exist here for them. They had elaborate meetings with the Minister of Finance. We raised with them exactly what is already in the public domain, that we do have an interest in one more commercial bank of international standing, preferably an American bank of international standing,” Ali posited.
Back in 2016 under the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Administration, the Bank of America had severed ties with financial institutions in the Caribbean including Guyana over money laundering concerns.
In a notice at the time, Bank of America had informed that it was severing its corresponding relationship with “indigenous banks” in Guyana.
However, according to President Ali, this matter was not raised during the recent engagements with the US-based bank officials.
“Not one second [was spent] on it. They were totally enthusiastic about Guyana and they were gung-ho on Guyana. They were telling us how about all the prospects they’re seeing and how viable [those are]. And that has been the story of all the investors and all those who are coming.”
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments with a full range of banking, investment management, and other financial and risk management products and services. The bank was founded in San Francisco, California in 1923. It is the second-largest banking institution in the United States, after JPMorgan Chase, and the second-largest bank in the world by market capitalisation.
Citibank is the consumer division of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York and later became the First National City Bank of New York. Citibank provides credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, commercial loans, and lines of credit. (G-8)