By LCN Business Desk
The Bank opened on 5 October with a seven-member board. The Government published the full list the same day, with the offices each director holds.
Who sits on the board?
Seven directors, each holding offices elsewhere.
The Department of Public Information published a two-page spread on 5 October 2026, "Guyana Development Bank: Another promise delivered", carrying messages from the President and three ministers and introducing the board. The offices below are those the document itself attributes to each director.
| Director | Role | Other offices stated |
|---|---|---|
| Abu Zaman | Chairperson | Chief Administrative Officer of ENet; Chairman of the Small Business Council; Chairman of the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee of the Natural Resource Fund |
| Kathy Smith | Deputy Chairperson | President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Vice Chairperson of the Private Sector Commission; chairs the Board of Industrial Training; Board Trustee of Iwokrama River Lodge |
| James Bond | Director | Attorney-at-Law of twenty-four years; Member of Parliament for the People's Progressive Party/Civic; Senior Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation; Managing Director of Bond Optimum |
| Sukrishnalall Pasha | Director | Finance Secretary within the Ministry of Finance; Chairman of the Bureau of Statistics; Board of Governors of the Guyana Revenue Authority; Council of the University of Guyana |
| Dion Inniss | Director | Sales Executive for Guyana and Suriname at Caribbean Airlines Limited; National Sports Commission; third Vice-President of the Guyana Football Federation |
| Nalinie Singh | Director | Commissioner of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission; Board of Governors of The Bishops' High School |
| Praem Rambharak | Director | Member of the President's Youth Advisory Council; former columnist and educator |
Source: "Guyana Development Bank: Another promise delivered", Department of Public Information, 5 October 2026.
What an applicant must have in hand, and the four steps from applying to being paid, are set out in What You Need Before You Apply and From Application to Money in the Account. Two of the seven have chaired the Small Business Council: Zaman currently, and Pasha previously. Pasha also served as a Commissioner of the Public Procurement Commission.
What does the Act require of them?
Five to nine directors, appointed by the Finance Minister, qualified in four named fields.
The Guyana Development Bank Act provides for a board of five to nine directors appointed by the Finance Minister and qualified in finance, economics, banking or law, alongside a chief executive. The Act and its commencement were reported in The Guyana Development Bank Act Is in Force.
Seven sits inside that range. The Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, records in the same spread that he piloted the Bill through the National Assembly and signed the Commencement Order that brought the Act into operation.
One of the seven directors he appoints to is the Finance Secretary within his own ministry.
What was already known?
The chair and the deputy, and the size of the board.
On opening day the chair and deputy chairperson were named, and that was reported in A Bank That Asks What You Can Build, Not What You Own, which also set out what the Bank had not yet published about its lending rules. The spread carries all seven, and the offices each of them holds.
Kathy Smith's two other seats have been reported in this newspaper before. Her chamber's request for more information on oil contracts was covered in The Chamber Asked for More Information on Oil Contracts, and the composition of the Private Sector Commission's top seats in Women Now Shape Two of Five Top Seats at Guyana's Private Sector Commission.
What is the Bank capitalised at?
G$40 billion authorised, with G$20 billion provided as a first tranche.
Dr Singh states in the spread that Budget 2026 made "a dedicated provision for an initial capital injection of $20 billion, representing the first tranche of the bank's $40 billion authorised share capital".
The product it opened with is up to G$3 million, at zero interest and without collateral, and the Bank's site sets out a second, smaller product alongside it, reported in The Development Bank Has Two Loans, Not One. What that capital buys at that ceiling is set out in G$20 Billion to Lend and a G$3 Million Ceiling. Which of the four accepted documents is attached to a register, and what it does and does not hold, is set out in The Card That Takes You to Barbados Is Also the One the Development Bank Can Read. The President describes a dedicated mobile platform so that citizens in riverain, hinterland and urban areas can interface with the Bank, and names agriculture, agro-processing, tourism and tech services among the sectors.
Why does a board list matter for a bank like this one?
Because this bank lends without collateral, and the board is where that discretion sits.
A commercial lender manages its risk through security. The Guyana Development Bank has been set up to lend without it, which moves the weight of every decision onto assessment, eligibility and the rules the institution applies. What those rules are, and whether they are published, was the subject of that opening-day report.
The Bank restricts its own website to visitors in Guyana, reported in The Development Bank's Website Stops at Guyana's Border. The Bank's borrower-naming proposal and the objections lenders abroad raised to it were reported in Guyana Plans to Name Its Development Bank Borrowers Before They Are Paid, and the opposition amendments sought at the Act's passage in Most of What the Opposition Wants Changed at the Development Bank Needs No Amendment.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
- 7 directors. The board the Government published in October 2026, within the five to nine the Act provides for.
- The Finance Secretary. Sukrishnalall Pasha, a director, is Finance Secretary within the Ministry of Finance.
- A sitting Member of Parliament. James Bond, a director, is a Member of Parliament for the People's Progressive Party/Civic.
- G$40 billion. The Bank's authorised share capital, of which Budget 2026 provided G$20 billion as a first tranche.
- G$3 million. The maximum loan, at zero interest and without collateral.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the Guyana Development Bank's directors?
Abu Zaman as chairperson, Kathy Smith as deputy chairperson, and James Bond, Sukrishnalall Pasha, Dion Inniss, Nalinie Singh and Praem Rambharak as directors, per the Department of Public Information's October 2026 spread.
What does the Act say about the board?
It provides for a board of five to nine directors appointed by the Finance Minister and qualified in finance, economics, banking or law, alongside a chief executive.
Does any director hold a government office?
Sukrishnalall Pasha is Finance Secretary within the Ministry of Finance and chairs the Bureau of Statistics. James Bond is a Member of Parliament for the People's Progressive Party/Civic and Senior Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation. Nalinie Singh is a Commissioner of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission.
What is the Bank's capital?
G$40 billion in authorised share capital, with Budget 2026 providing an initial injection of G$20 billion as the first tranche.
What does the Bank lend?
Up to G$3 million per borrower, at zero interest and without collateral, with a mobile platform for applications and agriculture, agro-processing, tourism and tech services among the named sectors.