The New Building Society Limited (NBS) was incorporated in  1940 via a bill known as Chapter 36:21 of the Laws of Guyana  and in the process took over the assets of its forerunner the  British Guiana Building Society which consisted of thirty nine  buildings valuing $77,960.00. At the first Board of Directors  meeting held on 27 th April 1940, Mr. Seaford was elected  Chairman, Mr. Jones as Vice-Chairman and Mr. John Durey as  Secretary of the Society.

 Also, at that meeting many of the  operational procedures, some  of which are still in place today,  were put in place. These  included the appointment of Solicitors,  Auditors, Bankers and  the holding of monthly Board of Directors  meetings. In the initial  period after the establishment of NBS,  growth was slow and  profits were insubstantial influencing some  Directors to make  unselfish sacrifices by agreeing to work without fees for many years. Also, Solicitors were not compensated for their advice and attendance at meetings. Nevertheless, after twenty months of its existence NBS made satisfactory progress as its services became better known and public confidence grew. Total Assets of the Society moved from $153,000: at 1 st May 1940 to $309,681: at 31 st December 1944 then to $684,116: at 31 st December 1949 . At the end of World War 11 the situation further improved enabling the Society to operate profitably.

In 1955, as a consequence of its outstanding progress, NBS was admitted as an associate member of the British Building Society Association as well as the Directors were remunerated. By 1960 investment shares and deposits totalled $5,858,375: while 1500 families were given the opportunity to own their own homes. The role of NBS in helping to alleviate the housing crisis was very obvious in that it was estimated at that time that one in every fourteen families was living in a house either bought or renovated with a loan from the Society. At this time NBS became the leading organization in Guyana that lent for home renovation or purchase. During this period residents in areas such as Newtown, Bel Air Village, Agricola, Mc Doom, Lodge and Prashad Nagar benefited tremendously, especially those in the lower middle and the lower income brackets since each loan was restricted to $10,000:.

In June 1961 when citizens started to lose confidence in Guyana 's future, many investors demanded that their monies be refunded but the Society was unable to meet all the withdrawal requests. Although the Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the Demerara Mutual Life Insurance Company and the British Guiana and Trinidad Mutual Life & Fire Insurance Companies rendered assistance, NBS was forced to stop making loans and suspend payments in respect of Mortgage applications already granted. These difficulties were exacerbated in December 1962 when the Society's Chief Office was destroyed by fire. Fortunately, NBS was able to salvage a significant amount of its records.

By 1965 after twenty five years of existence, NBS had provided housing for approximately twenty thousand persons. In 1969 although Total Assets grew NBS was unable to attract new investors. This placed the Society's ability to grant new mortgages in jeopardy, thus forcing it to introduce a new type of Savings Account called Save & Prosper which eventually turned out to be very popular. Despite the foreign exchange and general crisis that gripped the country in the mid-seventies NBS continued to grow.

In 1982 NBS demonstrated its commitment to National development when it agreed to sell some UK Stocks worth 395,414 pounds sterling to assist the government which had urgently needed foreign exchange to purchase essential supplies for the country. In 1983 NBS achieved a significant milestone when its assets topped the $100 million mark.

In the late eighties and early nineties NBS witnessed a moderate increase in Mortgage applications primarily due to the massive devaluation of the Guyana Dollar and accompanying skyrocketing of prices for building materials. NBS computerised its operations at the Georgetown Office in 1987. In 1999 the entire operation including the branches were fully computerised using a completely new and state of the art system. During the nineties NBS was successful in increasing the percentage of Total Assets invested in Mortgages. In the late twentieth and early twenty- first century there was an upsurge in housing construction due to the establishment of several housing schemes by the Government and NBS was well positioned by astute management to service this market. During this period the growth in assets and savings was phenomenal as is shown in the graphs below-:

Today NBS boasts a strong financial position where Assets have grown to $25.872 billion, Reserves stand at $3.176 billion, Savings Balance at $ 22.507 billion and the Mortgage Portfolio at $12.462 billion.

BRANCHES

NBS has seven branches located in Georgetown , New Amsterdam , Rosignol, Rosehall, Corriverton, Mackenzie and thereafter Essequibo . The opening of these branches has been deliberate as it gives the Society the distinct advantage of being able to deliver its products and services all across Guyana .

CORPORATE CITIZENRY

NBS has always demonstrated good corporate citizenship by giving back to the communities to benefit Guyanese of all walks of life. The following are some of the major contributions-: NBS' Hall of Residence at UG, building at UG Berbice Campus, Queens College Restoration Fund, the Camp St 2000 Project, the Guyana Red Cross and Guyana Relief Council to assist victims in the recent devastating floods, sinking of a well at the Shelter Belt, distribution of 500,000 exercise books to school children, rehabilitation of Linden Centre for Handicapped Children, six new vehicles to the Guyana Police Force to assist in fighting crime and donations to many other charitable institutions.

DIRECTORS/SECRETARIES

As was stated earlier Mr. J. Durey was appointed the first Secretary of the Society in 1940. Mr. Jules de Cambra was appointed Director/Secretary in 1976 and served in that capacity until 1992 when he retired. Mr. Samuel Ramdeen then served as Director/Secretary until his retirement in 1998. Ms. Monica La Bennett succeeded him until her departure in 2001. Mr.Maurice Arjoon who has served at a very senior management level for over twenty seven years is the current Director/Secretary.