COME Tuesday, April 17th, the New Building Society Limited (NBS) would be operating out of its spanking new multi-million-dollar head office building located at Lot 1 North Road and Avenue of the Republic, in Georgetown. No business will be conducted at the previous building, located only a few blocks away. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior bank official told Guyana Chronicle that the decision to move into the new building was hinged largely on the advice of the Bank of Guyana.
The official explained that, in keeping with the Financial Institutions Act, the Bank of Guyana was mandated to inspect the building to determine that the facility was ready to accommodate customers and that the infrastructure and security were in keeping with the standards required. These aspects have been rated as satisfactory by the Bank of Guyana team.
Inspection by the Bank of Guyana team included checking vaults, database systems and physical features of the building for both customers and employees. In keeping with recognized standards, the bank also had to ensure that it possessed records dating back ten years.
Regarding readiness for Tuesday, the NBS official said there was room for everyone, and the new space was truly customer-friendly. The official disclosed that among reasons for the bank deciding on the new facility were the location of the previous head office and the things that could not have been done at that location.
The society had not been able to expand to the left or right, before or behind, and had also been prevented from going any storey higher, because the foundation would not have been able to accommodate that additional weight.
That location was situated next to several transportation parks, and the hustle and bustle with its concomitant noise sometimes seeped into the society, and those were other factors that prompted the move, the official added.
One of the most important aspects of the moving, which started yesterday, included the information technology solution. The entire database of the New Building Society is controlled by the main office, and that had to be transferred to the new building, which was done sometime late last week. At the moment, there are still several things that need to be fine-tuned, and those are expected to be completed within a matter of days.
The NBS is hoping that, come Tuesday, there will be a smooth transition. The official told the Chronicle that, at the moment, senior directors of the society are still contemplating what to do with the old building.
The new building sports, among other things, training facility, staff facility, and other convinces aimed at making the working environment more acceptable for the staff and customers alike.