With only minimal fanfare and little public notice, the National Assembly last week unanimously passed into law the Security Interests in Movable Property Bill 2024. The statutory protection of a credit system over immovable property has long been an aspiration of many who are and were involved in the financial industry. The need became evident as early as the late 1980s as Guyana’s economy began to look to external sources for economic development. By the early 1990s the Government invited a Canadian lawyer who was stationed in Guyana for several months, at intervals, who prepared draft legislation. It then silently vanished, never to be heard of again.
The main enforceable securities in Guyana that have been virtually risk free have been mortgages and debentures. To obtain a mortgage a person has to own what is called “immovable property,” that is, transported land with or without a building on it. A mortgage enjoys a high degree of legal priority. A debenture can only be issued to a company which has assets, usually both movable and immovable, but the assets can be movable only. It is for the lender, usually a bank, to determine whether to risk lending on the security of only movable assets.
