At the end of last year the banking system's loan portfolio ended up with a balance of $66,117 million, just 1.4% more than the $65,187 million reported at the end of 2016.
The Comptroller General of the Republic reported that the moderate increase is partly explained by a contraction recorded by the external sector's portfolio, as between 2016 and 2017 it dropped from $16,557 to $14,560, which is equivalent to a 12% drop.
"It is imperative that banks have the necessary controls that enable them to timely detect suspicious money laundering activities."
The new president of the Banking Association of Panama (ABP) is proposing the creation and implementation of a Code of Conduct for unionized entities, similar to what exists for other banking associations in the region.
The portfolio of loans for the purchase of vehicles saw its highest growth in the month of August 2013, when it increased by 17% compared to the previous month.
Up until August personal loans totaled $4.728 billion, credit cards $1.137 billion and auto loans $901.5 million.
The consumer loan portfolio alone, as of August, covers 19% of the loan portfolio of the Local National Banking System (NBS) amounting to $36.344 billion.
At the end of March domestic credit amounted to $34.338 billion, surpassing by 16% the figure for the same period in 2012.
"The commercial sector claimed the most credit, with a portfolio of $10.2622 billion (22.8%), followed by mortgages, whose portfolio totaled $9.521 billion, up 14.4% from a year earlier" , reported Prensa.com.
"The third most important activity was consumption, with a portfolio of $6.4063 billion, 10.5% more than the previous year."
In March the balance of new bank loans reached $34.339 billion, which is $4.729 billion more than earned in the same period of 2012, when the total was $29.61 billion.
Figures from the Superintendency of Banks in Panama (SBP), reveal that most of the growth in lending balances is in the private sector, with $4.3329 billion, while the public sector only received $396 million.
Banks credit intermediation and its influence in the generation of goods and services on behalf of the productive system.
In a SECMCA report, Nelson Oswaldo Ramirez presents a brief analysis of the development of banking credit in comparison with the region's economic activity in the first five months of the year. In the way he studies relationships that may exist between the variables of Credit and GDP.
The Panamanian Credit Association will have the power to remove all credit references going back seven years or more.
The Martesfinanciero.com website indicated that "it applies to debts that have been cancelled or paid in full since 2002 and those that are active even if there has not been a payment for seven years or those that have never received payments and were opened seven years ago or more."