Dear Editor,
We have to refer to a letter written by Hon Annette Ferguson in today’s Stabroek News (SN) in which she implies that His Excellency Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali was using the Labour Brunch as a campaign strategy for the upcoming elections.

In particular, she mentioned that the announcement of the increase in the mortgage ceiling from $20M to $30M as a political ploy and over the heads of the Society’s Administration.

Far from it, the Society has been engaging His Excellency on this matter for nearly a year. Our last report for its 85th AGM carried a letter to this effect and sought to justify the increase from $20 million to $35 million.

We had two meetings with His Excellency and the Honourable Minister of Finance on this and other matters relating to the Society.

We highlighted to His Excellency our decision in 2022 to drastically reduce the interest rate to as low as 3.5 per cent to the highest being 5.7 per cent.

This request for the increase in the mortgage ceiling to $35 million will assist many young professional applicants to own a decent home and grow their wealth.

As a mutual organisation, the objective of the New Building Society Limited (NBS) is profit sufficiency rather than profit maximization.

Our Retain Earnings Reserves is 20 per cent of Total Assets and the NBS is in a robust financial health to be able to sustain the increase in mortgage ceiling and new rate adjustment. Importantly, Guyanese will benefit significantly from this higher ceiling of $30 million.

In fact, since 2022 when we reduced interest rates for every mortgage holder, they all have been benefitting from substantial rebates of in excess of 300 million dollars per year.

This is a significant benefit to borrowers which follows our high interest rate on savings account of 2.75 per cent.

The borrowers and savers are both benefitting from our decisions in these areas of our operation. The economic situation in the country allows us to do so.

Having recognized the need to increase the mortgage ceiling, the Directors of NBS have unanimously sought the Government of Guyana’s approval for the increase of up to $35 million in its mortgage ceiling.

This request was first made since June 2024.
We finally agreed recently with the government’s proposal of $30 million maximum with the understanding that we will not increase interest rates from our existing rates of 3.5 per cent for lower loans and 5.7 per cent for loans higher than nine million dollars and up to $30 million dollars.

The announcement by His Excellency at the Labour Brunch was no doubt intended to signal to his audience the many areas of progress being derived by the workers of our beautiful country under his administration and should not be seen as usurping any organization’s role or authority.

Yours faithfully,
Anil Kishun,
CEO/Director/Secretary

***Use pic saved as: NBS