The Government of Guyana has announced an immediate injection of US$100 million into the foreign exchange market to address delays in the availability of foreign currency.
According to a release from the Ministry of Finance, the funds will be distributed across all commercial banks to provide swift relief and meet pending requests for foreign currency.
This decision was made following a high-level meeting on Monday afternoon involving Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh, and Central Bank Governor Dr. Gobind Ganga. They met with Chief Executive Officers and other representatives of commercial banks to discuss recent developments in the banking system, particularly with regard to foreign exchange.
According to the Finance Ministry, while the financial system continues to maintain adequate levels of foreign currency to satisfy ongoing demand, some commercial banks have experienced timing mismatches that have caused occasional delays in fulfilling foreign currency orders.
The US$100 million injection is aimed at smoothing out these temporary mismatches and ensuring that customers’ foreign currency needs are met without further delay, the Finance Ministry said.
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to staying actively engaged with both the private sector and commercial banks to ensure the foreign exchange market continue to function efficiently.
CEOs of commercial banks at the meeting
