At ‘One Stop Shop’…
SOME commercial banks have pledged their full support to the expansive Government housing programme as more Private Sector firms get on board the massive drive.
The pledges were made last Saturday when the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) in the Ministry of Housing and Water conducted its second ‘‘One Stop Shop’’ outreach for the year, at its Brickdam, Georgetown premises.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), Mr. John Tracey said his institution is pleased to be a part of the fifth ‘One Stop Shop’, to date.
“This drive by the Government is really revolutionising things. It is revolutionising banking,” he declared.
“We use to think of banking as being something very private, wacknowlehere you come into a room and nobody knows that you are going to borrow money, but all that has changed,” Tracey observed.
He said the Government is making “groundbreaking moves” with this economy and GBTI is pleased to be a part of them.
Noting that Government is supposed to be the enabling factor and agent for change and development, Tracey attested that it has done that.
“But more than that, I suggest that banks could never, ever identify the demand that we see the Government identifying here. In all that we are doing, in all our marketing, I don’t think we would ever have been able to identify the demand for housing that the Government has identified and we are able to take advantage of that,” he acknowledged.
Lauding the government for that, Tracey said it is all about stability and referred to the last Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports, which indicated that Government has been mindful and managed the macro-economic framework of the country well, which is very important.
He pointed out that some of the things banks look for in credit are conditions and one of them is economic.
Tracey said economic conditions need to be stable and, once there is economic stability, as seen here, the banks would be well encouraged and supportive.
“Your house will provide you with the same stability,” he told the persons who received house lots.
Tracey spoke of the project GBTI has undertaken in partnership with the Government of Guyana – called Women of Worth (WOW) – to help single mothers.
“Not because you get a house loan means you cannot get also a WOW loan. You can get both,” he assured.

MAJOR PART

“GBTI is happy to be a part of the housing drive which I know is playing a major part in the development of this country,” Tracey reiterated.
He said banking assets have grown by ten per cent in the last five years and loans have also increased by that same percentage and, within that, lending to the housing sector has more than outstripped that average.
“We are in full support of the housing drive and we are happy and proud to do so,” Tracey maintained.
Managing Director of Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, Mr. John Alves was similarly glowing in praise.
He said: “I think, sometimes, when we measure our development, we don’t take into consideration the stock units of housing that are created each year.”
Alves said he thinks, over the last few years, the promotion, along with the recent increase in the limits for the low cost mortgages, has made a big difference to the growth of the economy.
He said, once the trend continues, the economy will grow from strength to strength and Republic Bank has been involved in the ‘‘One Stop Shop’’ in a number of places.
Alves disclosed that his bank has already processed quite a number of applications and stands ready to continue working with the Government on its housing drive.
“We, like our competitors, are here today prepared, on a full-time basis, to offer our products and services.
“I want to encourage all of those who have been given their house lots to move as expeditiously as they could to acquire funding to get those houses built,” he urged.
Alves said one of the areas that, over the years, has been a concern is the time it takes to process the title or transport.
He said he is particularly pleased that, under these new schemes, the Ministry has moved to the title system as compared to the transport one, which takes a bit longer.
Alves said Republic Bank has seen efforts to expedite that processing through the registry and elsewhere.
Managing Director, Mr. Eton Chester said Saturday was Citizens Bank first ‘‘One Stop Shop’’ exercise but, over the last six months, its representatives have been going into the various communities on its own outreach and have been very successful.
“I must complement the Minister of Housing and the staff of the CH&PA for this very innovative approach, which brings the prospective home owners and the lending institutions together,” he said.
Chester said since Citizens Bank commenced its operations, it always felt that one of its primary goals should be the well-being of citizens.
“It not only speaks of financial well-being but of individuals who can own their own homes because, if you own your own home, I think it takes you a long way to being better off,” he stated.
“We have always wanted to be part of a programme that would afford home owners financing but, unfortunately, there were situations that existed which did not make it very attractive for the commercial banks,” Chester admitted.

MORTGAGE LENDERS

“But in 2001, when the Government took the decision to offer commercial banks the opportunity to be part of what was referred to as mortgage lenders, Citizens Bank came on board,” he related.
Chester went on: “We are proud to say, today, that Citizens Bank was the first bank to come on board with the Government in their low income housing drive.”
He said Citizens Bank has seen the results of the drive, which is evident if one looks around and sees many new housing schemes going up.
“There has been a significant increase in residential mortgages at the commercial banks and this increase is consistent with the expansive housing drive on which the Government of Guyana has embarked,” Chester agreed.
Congratulating President Bharrat Jagdeo and the Housing and Water Minister, Mr. Irfaan Ali, he said: “We, at Citizens Bank, remain very steadfast in our support for any programme similar to this, that is going to improve the well-being of individuals.”
In that context, he announced that Citizens Bank has taken a decision to set aside $2 billion which they will lend to new home owners under the ‘mortgage lenders’ agreement.
“We, the commercial banks and lending institutions, we remain supportive of the Government and its drive to ensure the well-being of individuals in Guyana,” Chester committed.