Banking
From The Report: Panama 2015
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With a dollarised economy, low inflation and relative political stability, Panama remains a highly attractive regional financial centre. Recording strong performance in 2014, the country’s International Banking Centre, which contributes 7.5% to Panama’s GDP and comprises the national banking system and international banks, is well capitalised with total assets of some $111.4bn as of March 2015. In light of the country’s inclusion in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force, authorities are currently taking steps to adapt sector legislation to enhance transparency and improve its anti-monetary laundering/counterfinancing of terrorism regime. The banking sector’s outlook is positive, with Panama’s economic environment likely to remain strong with steady growth in loans, deposits and overall assets, while the competitive landscape is likely to see the entrance of new players.

This chapter features interviews with Rolando de León de Alba, General Manager, Banco Nacional de Panamá; and Robert Williams, General Manager, Scotiabank Panama.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Stable growth: The authorities are further strengthening the sector, which continues to perform well
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Due to its openness to foreign financial institutions, dollarisation, low inflation and relative political stability, Panama remains a highly attractive regional financial centre. Recording strong performance in 2014, the country’s International Banking Centre (IBC), which contributes 7.5% to Panama’s GDP and comprises the national banking system (NBS) and international banks (IBs), remains well capitalised with total assets of some $111.4bn as of March 2015. In light of the country’s inclusion…

Interview

Rolando de León de Alba, General Manager, Banco Nacional de Panamá: Interview
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Interview:Rolando de León de Alba What changes will the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) have on Panama’s banking regulatory framework? ROLANDO DE LEÓN: The country’s banking system has already completely adapted to the implementation of FATCA. For a number of years, the local industry has been preparing for any changes that would come from the implementation of the agreement. The only remaining step is signing the intergovernmental agreement to define…

Interview

Robert Williams, General Manager, Scotiabank Panama: Interview
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Interview:Robert Williams Is the June 2015 deadline going to leave sufficient time for Panama to adopt the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) legal framework? ROBERT WILLIAMS: After being included in the FTAF’s grey list, Panama presented a plan of action built upon six pillars: (1) adequately criminalising money laundering and terrorist financing; (2) establishing and implementing an adequate legal framework for freezing terrorist assets; (3) establishing more effective measures for…

Analysis

Action plan: A broad range of initiatives aim to improve sector regulation and enable it to comply with international requirements
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A number of initiatives currently under way in Panama are expected to strengthen what is already a strong banking sector. Although the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness ranking indicates that Panama’s financial system is at or near the top decile globally in most respects (see overview), the sector is hampered by its continued inclusion –as of early June 2015 – on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Along with countries such as Afghanistan, Angola, Indonesia,…