Citizens Bank Guyana Inc.

What it is

Incorporated in 1993, Citizens Bank opened for business as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citizens Bank Jamaica Limited in 1994. By 1998 it was fully Guyanese-owned, after local shareholders bought out the Jamaican stake — and Banks DIH Limited, Guyana’s dominant beverage group, took the controlling 51% position it holds today.

Citizens Bank offers retail and commercial banking services — deposits, loans, mortgages, foreign exchange, and credit cards — through a branch network in Georgetown and beyond. Its headquarters in Lacytown, Georgetown, sits atop a balance sheet of GYD 130.6 billion (USD 628 million) in total assets as of September 30, 2024.

Who owns it

Citizens Bank is a 51% subsidiary of Banks DIH Limited — the same company that makes Guyana’s best-known beers and soft drinks. The remaining 49% trades freely on the Guyana Stock Exchange, available to any investor.

Clifford B. Reis serves as Chairman of the Board, a position consistent with his role as the long-standing head of Banks DIH.

The controlling shareholder and the board chair are therefore closely linked, which is standard for Guyana’s listed companies but worth knowing.

Who runs it

Wilfred A. Lee holds the title of Managing Director — the day-to-day chief executive of the bank.

Anmarie Walker-Cato serves as Senior Vice President, Finance, the senior finance officer, having been promoted to that role in February 2024.

Fayola Wray was appointed to the position of Vice President, Finance, effective April 14, 2025, further strengthening the finance leadership layer below Walker-Cato.

The money, in plain words

In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, the bank earned total revenue of GYD 7.065 billion (USD 34.0 million), up 26.2% from GYD 5.599 billion (US$27 mn) the year before. It kept GYD 2.244 billion (US$11 mn) of that as profit after tax — roughly 32 cents from every dollar of income, a net profit margin of 31.8% (our calculation), which is strong for any bank.

Profit before tax reached GYD 3.764 billion (US$18 mn), up GYD 500 million (US$2 mn) or 15.3% on the prior year. The loan book grew 15.6%, rising from GYD 52.0 billion (US$250 mn) to GYD 60.1 billion (US$289 mn) — the bank is lending more, and at a growing pace, into an economy expanding on oil revenues.

On the stock exchange, the share trades at GYD 388 (USD 1.87), which puts it at a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.0× based on the most recent full-year earnings per share of GYD 43.04 (US$0.21)(GASCI data). For fiscal 2025 (ended September 30, 2025), the board declared a final dividend of GYD 6.25 (US$0.03)per share, plus an interim of GYD 2.25, (US$0.01)giving a total of GYD 8.50 (US$0.04)for that year — a dividend yield of roughly 2.2% at the current price.

What it is doing now

For the first six months of fiscal 2026 (ended March 31, 2025), Citizens Bank recorded after-tax profit of GYD 1,199.4 million (US$6 mn), up 16.8% on the same period a year earlier. Momentum is holding.

Operating expenses rose 20.8%, driven by personnel costs, inflation, and costs tied to a branch project at Mandela Avenue — the bank is investing in its physical footprint even as margins stay healthy.

In April 2026, the board declared an interim dividend of GYD 2.50 (US$0.01)per share for fiscal 2026, up from GYD 2.25 (US$0.01)a year earlier — a 11% increase in the interim payment alone, signalling confidence in the full-year result.

What to watch

• Oil-driven competition. Guyana’s economy is projected to grow 15.4% in fiscal 2025, lifted by oil and government infrastructure spending — but that growth is also drawing new and larger banks into the market.
• Cost creep. Operating expenses are rising faster than revenue in the near term; if that gap widens, the strong net margin will compress.
• Ownership concentration. With Banks DIH holding 51% and the chairman representing that interest, minority shareholders have limited ability to influence strategy — standard for Guyana, but a governance point for international investors.
• Thin float, thin liquidity. With roughly 49% of shares in public hands on a small exchange, the stock rarely moves — the price has been GYD 388 (US$2)for well over a year — which can make it hard to buy or sell a meaningful position quickly.

This is news, not investment advice.