Bank of America, Citibank to establish representative offices in Guyana – Nandlall

After years of engagement with the Guyana Government, two major United States banks – Citibank and Bank of America – will establish representative offices here soon, government has said.

The banks’ local offices will cater mostly to non-commercial business transactions for medium and large-scale investors, given that since the emergence of the oil and gas sector a number of international companies and clients have set up offices or are working here.

“You have Citibank expressing their interest to come very soon to open a representative office here in Guyana,” President Irfaan Ali said two weeks ago at a party campaign meeting in Alexander Village.

In July, Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Anil Nandall SC had announced that Bank of America will establish a representative office here also.

Nandlall told Stabroek News that given that legislation has been cleared for the offices opening, this country will see “all two banks” setting up representative offices soon.

In mid-July of this year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo who also holds the portfolio on financial and economic matters had indicated Citibank’s interest. “Citibank, which is massive, has indicated an interest in setting up a representative office here. So that would help with a lot of the big projects by Guyanese companies and others to get access to that financing for their capital projects without having to go to our local banking system,” Jagdeo had stated.

Under the APNU+AFC in 2020, Citibank representatives had visited this country and held discussions on the possibility of setting up a presence here.

“They are looking at the possibility of opening something here, given the potential and I was able to discuss with them the numerous possibilities here, more so now with oil and gas and they seemed very happy,” Bank of Guyana Governor, Gobind Ganga had told Stabroek News then. “They are doing their due diligence…I told them whatever it is that they need or believe they are not clear on that they can contact me,” Ganga added.

The Bank of Guyana Governor said that he was pleased by the interest shown  by Citibank in this country and offered help because Citibank has stood behind it, especially the Central Bank, for many years as a correspondent bank, while many others came and left.

Then in September of 2023, representatives from the Bank of America had met with President  Ali and a team as they too discussed possibility of a presence in Guyana.

A release from the Office of the President had said that the representatives were in Guyana on an exploratory mission and had also met with the private sector. 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.

Days after the meeting, President Ali had said that the representatives “Were totally enthusiastic about Guyana and they were ‘gung-ho’ on Guyana. They were telling us about all the prospects they’re seeing and how viable [they were].”

US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Adrienne Galanek and its Commercial and Economic Officer Thomas Seeger had accompanied the visiting delegation.

“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,” the President had informed.