Georgetown, Guyana – August 20, 2025A storm is brewing in Guyana’s financial sector as the WIN Party has accused several of the country’s top banks of targeting its supporters with what it calls “blatant political discrimination.”
According to the Party, institutions including the Bank of Nova Scotia, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, New Building Society, and Demerara Bank have shut down accounts, cancelled loans, and refused services to its members, all without any legal justification. “This is not just about bank accounts,” a WIN Party spokesperson told reporters. “Teachers can’t collect their salaries. Candidates chosen by the people have lost their accounts and even their jobs. Small business owners are being forced to survive outside the banking system, putting their livelihoods and safety at risk. What we’re seeing here is democracy itself under threat.”
The Party insists these actions are more than financial inconvenience, they are outright violations of basic rights. It has pointed to a range of international and regional commitments that it says are being violated, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects against discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which ensures equal access to public life, and the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society (1997), which guarantees political freedom and equality across member states.In an urgent appeal, the WIN Party has called on CARICOM to step in immediately.
The Party’s demands include a public condemnation of the discriminatory practices, reinstatement of all affected accounts, direct engagement with the Guyanese government and the banks to end what it calls political persecution, deployment of observers to investigate and report, and the creation of regional safeguards to ensure citizens can access financial services without fear.
“This is about the fundamental right of every citizen to work, bank, and participate in democracy without fear,” the Party concluded.The accusations place Guyana’s financial institutions at the center of a political firestorm that could soon spill into the regional stage.
If CARICOM takes up the call, Guyana may face international scrutiny not only over its politics but also its banking system. For now, thousands of ordinary Guyanese caught in the middle wait to see if the region’s leaders will step in, or if they will be left navigating life without access to the financial system.
