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Bank of America to sever ties with Guyana banks

Published:Sunday | July 10, 2016 | 12:00 AM

Guyana's Central Bank Governor Dr Gobind Ganga has confirmed that Bank of America will be severing ties with banks in the CARICOM state as early as next month.

Bank of America provides correspondent banking services for some financial institutions in the region. It has been pulling out in an effort to manage its risks. It discontinued its relationships with institutions in Belize last year, leaving the country's main banking institutions with reduced access to global markets.

However, Ganga says the pullout from Guyana may not have any implications for the country as other banks from North America and Europe have already expressed an interest in filling the void.

He says only a few local banks will be affected by the exit of Bank of America.

He indicated that several reasons were given by the American bank for its exit, including de-risking; and the need to concentrate more on larger customers due to the high level of liquidity.