Reputation
Last week, this column took the opportunity to examine the performance of Republic Bank during 2014. This week attention turns to Demerara Bank Limited which describes itself with pride as the only indigenous bank in Guyana. Its origins have in no way been an impediment to the growth and expansion of the entity which has branches in all three counties of Guyana. Demerara Bank has earned the reputation of a bold risk-taker given its willingness to construct portfolios that do not follow the conservative model of banking in Guyana. The bank has been conscious of the uncertain operating environment in Guyana and in past years has studiously attempted to avoid the choppy waters of the political environment and spread its portfolio beyond the shores of Guyana. The current effort to examine the 2014 performance of DBL will attempt to decipher the business strategy used by the entity to grow its asset base and to expand the value that it gives to its shareholders.
Exceed performance
An examination of the performance of the stock index that this writer publishes will reveal that the market across the board in Guyana was jittery. The index lost over six per cent of its value in 2014 compared to 2013. Yet, of all the banks that are tracked by the LSI, DBL was the only one that managed to increase its market