Guyanese businessman and Accountant Floyd Haynes opened the New Hayven Merchant Bank on Thursday at the Marriott Hotel. The Bank’s office is on Church Street in Georgetown.
Under the banner ‘Guyanese Roots, Globally Connected’, the new bank will have firsthand knowledge of the country’s culture and socioeconomic realities, paired with global strategies.
Reflecting, Haynes said he grew up in poverty and had migrated to the United States to build a successful finance and accounting firm called Haynes Incorporated, which has been a leader, including in providing services to the US State Department.
He brings the expertise gained along the way, to this new venture in Guyana. He said New Hayven will play a critical role in bringing the capital needed to fuel business in the country, to ensure the momentum of Guyana’s development does not falter.
“We are open for business. We are ready,” Haynes said.
New Hayven aims to create value and lasting opportunity, as a repository of the Guyana story, said Chief Executive Officer, Kurt Kisto.
Services it will be offering include invoice factoring, real estate development solutions, and investment opportunities for all Guyanese to participate in Guyana’s economic growth.
He said Kisto provides strong fiduciary management, responsiveness, innovation, and trustworthy partnership, with its services.
He explained that Guyana’s accelerated economic growth presents an opportunity for the country to transition to developed country status. In this regard, he noted that the Bank will operate in consistency with Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
“We are Guyana’s Merchant Bank,” Kisto said.
The business community knows all too well the challenge faced accessing financing, especially at the scale the oil & gas industry has introduced to the country. Guyana, as a lower income country, had been long accustomed to needing only modest investments to serve local markets. The private sector and the government have been working to make more financing accessible to businesses to serve international markets.
Commenting on the venture by Haynes, Guyana President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali said he knows that the businessman is not afraid to take risks and failures.
“He is a Guyanese, and I am proud of him,” the President said.
Haynes had served on the local content advisory panel. That panel had produced a report that greatly influenced what eventually became Guyana’s Local Content Act.
He is also team lead on the cost recovery audit that was recently contracted for some Stabroek Block expenses.
Speaking to financing needs for national development, Dr. Ali urged that investments be made in all the various sectors of the economy, whether they be technological, infrastructural, or otherwise. Dr. Ali urged persons not to confine themselves to oil & gas. He noted that the government is working with ExxonMobil to develop Guyana’s first ever technical training institute. He explained that the government, through this venture, is working to prepare human resource talent for an array of opportunities in every single sector. He said if persons confine themselves to oil & gas, they will do an injustice in every single sector.
