La Caribeña News Newsroom | Georgetown, Guyana | 31 July 2026
BANKING | LEGISLATION
The Guyana Development Bank Act 2026 received presidential assent on 30 July. Section 1 leaves commencement to a ministerial Order. Section 25 compels written credit policies. No provision requires the bank to publish them.
President Irfaan Ali assented to the Guyana Development Bank Act 2026 on Thursday, following its passage in the National Assembly on 27 July. Section 20(1) sets the authorised capital at G$40 billion. The Government has separately pledged a minimum capitalisation of US$200 million, of which the Budget 2026 first tranche is roughly G$20 billion.
Assent is not commencement. Section 1 provides that the Act comes into operation on a date the Minister appoints by Order. No such Order has been confirmed, and until it is made the institution does not exist in operating terms. No board has been appointed under section 7(2) and no chief executive under section 17.
This article sets out what the Act requires, what it permits, and where it is silent. It takes no position on any of it.
What does the Act say about lending terms?
The public commitment has been consistent since 2025: loans of up to G$3 million, zero interest, no collateral. That appears in presidential addresses, ministerial statements and Budget 2026.
Section 5(2) is drafted permissively. It provides that the bank may make loans with or without collateral, and with or without charging interest. Section 22(1)(c) lists interest among the bank’s sources of funds. Clause 24 sets the G$3 million ceiling. The register elsewhere in the Act differs: sections 24(1), 25(1) and 29 use "shall".
The zero-interest, collateral-free terms are therefore government policy operating within a statutory discretion, rather than a duty the Act imposes.
Does the Act require written lending criteria?
Yes. Section 25(1) makes written credit policies mandatory. Section 25(2) requires them to address eligibility criteria, risk assessment, approval thresholds, monitoring and recovery. Parliament did not leave the decision rules to be settled case by case.
The Act contains no requirement that those policies be published, disclosed to applicants, or laid before the National Assembly. They are required to exist. Their contents are not required to be visible to anyone outside the institution.
What reporting does the Act require?
The Auditor General audits the accounts annually. The bank submits its budget for ministerial approval and an annual report within four months of the year end. It is the Minister, rather than the bank, who lays both before the National Assembly. No provision requires the bank itself to publish anything.
Section 9(c) obliges the board to safeguard the independence of credit decisions. The Act attaches no record, no report and no consequence to that duty. Section 33(1)(c) makes destroying a record of a decision an offence, while no provision requires a record of a decision to be created.
Nothing in the Act requires the bank to record why an application was declined, to give the applicant a reason, or to report the pattern of its decisions.
What can be changed without Parliament?
Three levers are amendable by ministerial Order under negative resolution, the lightest parliamentary check. Section 20(2) governs the capital. Section 24(2) governs the loan ceiling. Section 2 carries the definition of a small or medium enterprise, which determines who is eligible at all.
Writing in the Guyana Business Journal in June 2026, Terrence R. Blackman identified the first two as the lightest check on the largest levers.
Section 34(1)(b) separately empowers the Minister to make regulations on the terms and conditions applicable to loans provided by the bank. Section 34 as printed carries no subsection (2), so no resolution requirement attaches to regulations made under it. No regulations have been confirmed as made.
Who supervises the bank?
Section 6(a) bars the bank from taking deposits from the public, which places it outside the licensing regime of the Financial Institutions Act. The Act does not substitute prudential or conduct supervision by the Bank of Guyana. There is no licence to condition, no examiner empowered to call for a lending file, and no authority that can issue a direction on lending conduct.
Who is eligible to borrow?
Requirements set out publicly in May 2026 include a credit score, National Insurance Scheme compliance, Guyana Revenue Authority compliance, a digital identity, a detailed business plan, financial statements where applicable, and proof of address. Priority sectors and priority groups have also been named. See the application roadmap, the five priority sectors, and the named priority groups.
Public servants are eligible, with conflict-of-interest guardrails confirmed in May by Zulfikar Ally, Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Guyana Development Bank Act in force?
Assent was given on 30 July 2026. Section 1 provides that the Act commences on a date appointed by the Minister by Order. No commencement Order has been confirmed.
Does the Act require loans to be interest-free and collateral-free?
No. Section 5(2) permits lending with or without collateral and with or without interest. The zero-interest, collateral-free terms are stated government policy rather than a statutory requirement.
Does the Act require the bank to publish its lending criteria?
No. Section 25 requires written credit policies addressing eligibility criteria, risk assessment, approval thresholds, monitoring and recovery. No provision requires their publication.
Can the loan ceiling be changed without Parliament?
Section 24(2) permits amendment by ministerial Order under negative resolution. Sections 20(2), on capital, and 2, on the definition of a small or medium enterprise, operate the same way.
Is the bank supervised by the Bank of Guyana?
Section 6(a) bars public deposits, placing the bank outside the Financial Institutions Act licensing regime. The Act does not substitute prudential or conduct supervision.
Editorial note
This article describes the text of the Guyana Development Bank Act 2026 and publicly stated government policy. It advances no argument and makes no allegation. Clause references are taken from Bill No. 5 of 2026 as gazetted on 4 June 2026 and should be checked against the assented Act.