Demerara Bank Limited (DBL) will set aside $100 million each year to provide interest-free housing loans of up to $6 million to eligible families. The bank launched the programme on Sunday 18 October 2026, the birth anniversary of its late founder, Dr Yesu Persaud. It is aimed at families who own land, or hold a land allocation or a turnkey housing unit from the Ministry of Housing, but lack the money to build. Single-parent households come first, although other families with housing needs will be considered.

Borrowers will pay no interest and no processing, legal or inspection fees. The bank does not require an equity contribution, and borrowers repay only the sum they borrowed. DBL Chairman Komal Samaroo, speaking at the launch, said the bank wanted to do something more this year to mark the anniversary, and that the scheme is meant to build on Dr Persaud’s record of giving people the means to better their circumstances. 

The fund is designed to renew itself. Mr Samaroo said repayments will flow back into the programme, which lets the bank assist more families as the years pass. Applications are made online through the bank's website, so people anywhere in Guyana can apply without visiting a branch.

Eligibility rests on four conditions. Applicants must provide documented proof of land ownership or a housing allocation. They need a stable income, whether from employment or self-employment, and a satisfactory credit history. The bank will also expect them to show that they can afford the repayments comfortably. The credit standard applies even though the loans carry no interest.

Mr Samaroo placed the programme within Dr Persaud's career. He said the founder's achievements reflected a determination to create opportunities for Guyanese, particularly through entrepreneurship and private sector development. What defined Dr Persaud most, he said, was a simple belief that every person deserves a fair opportunity to improve their circumstances. The chairman linked that belief to the founding of the Institute for Private Enterprise Development (IPED) in 1986, which was set up to finance small entrepreneurs and support the private sector. Dr Persaud held that micro and small businesses could help people improve their lives through their own initiative and creativity while contributing to national growth.

Mr Samaroo said the housing programme carries that philosophy into homeownership. "One family, one home at a time," he said.

Dr Persaud grew up working on a sugar estate in Guyana before travelling to the United Kingdom, where he qualified as a chartered accountant. In 1976, when the rum industry became locally owned, he was appointed executive chairman of the group that would become Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), which later gained international recognition. He went on to found Demerara Bank, described as Guyana's first indigenous bank, and the bank was officially inaugurated on 12 November 1994 after he had first conceived the idea in the late 1960s. His other ventures included IPED and Diamond Fire and General Insurance. He was 93 when he died in 2022. 

The bank has directed interested applicants to its website for further details of the programme and to submit applications. DBL has not said how many loans the $100 million allocation is expected to fund in a given year. At the maximum of $6 million per family, the annual sum would cover around 16 loans, a figure that will rise as repayments return to the fund.

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