Demerara Bank Limited today announced that it will set aside $100 million annually to provide interest-free housing loans of up to $6 million, with priority given to single-parent households.
The Housing Aid programme was launched to mark the birth anniversary of the bank’s late founder, Yesu Persaud, and will carry no processing, legal or inspection fees and require no borrower contribution.
Announcing the initiative in a video posted on the bank’s Facebook page, Chairman Komal Samaroo said it was intended to assist working families who have access to land but lack the finances to build a home.
Applicants must have a stable source of income, whether through employment or self-employment, a satisfactory credit history and documents establishing land ownership or a housing allocation. They must also demonstrate that they can comfortably meet the repayments.
Single-parent households will receive priority, although other families facing housing needs will also be considered.
According to Samaroo, repayments will be returned to the programme to finance loans for other families, allowing the fund to continue supporting homeownership.
The bank said applications can be completed digitally through its website, allowing persons to apply from anywhere in Guyana. The announcement did not specify the repayment period or how many applicants would be assisted in the first year.
The initiative adds to the bank’s existing housing finance arrangements. In February, Stabroek News reported that Demerara Bank had increased the lending ceiling under its Residential Housing Loan framework from $30 million to $40 million, while maintaining an interest rate of five per cent annually.
In outlining the new programme, Samaroo linked it to Persaud’s belief in giving people opportunities to improve their circumstances through their own work and initiative.
Persaud, who died in January 2022 at age 93, founded Demerara Bank, Guyana’s first indigenous private sector bank, which began operations in 1994. He was also a longstanding leader of Demerara Distillers Limited and the driving force behind the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), which provides financing to small and micro enterprises.
Born at Diamond sugar estate, Persaud qualified as an accountant in the United Kingdom before returning to Guyana in 1966. Stabroek News reported that IPED was incorporated in October 1985 and formally launched in January 1986, becoming a major part of his efforts to expand access to financing for entrepreneurs.
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