In the interests of greater transparency, the Superintendency of Banks has reported the details of the fines imposed in 2015 and 2016 on nine banks in the Panamanian banking system.
The Banks sanctioned in 2015 and 2016 are the state run Caia de Ahorros and St. George Bank, Banco Azteca (Panama), Austrobank Overseas (Panama), Banesco, Unibank, Banco Universal (now liquidated), Global Bank and Bank Ficohsa.
Businesses are asking the Executive to reactivate the National Commission against Smuggling to protect issues such as competitiveness, intellectual property rights and the rights of consumers and entrepreneurs.
When the criminal customs fraud structure in Guatemala known as La Linea fell, the National Commission Against Contraband (Conacon) ceased to be operational.
Transparency in purchases made by the State is the main barrier to combating corruption of public officials and the only way to ensure fair competition between suppliers.
In all Central American countries resistance to single platforms for government procurement is headed by public officials who thrive on the old systems of administration which kept processes and decisions regarding expenditure in the dark.
The Guatemalan government has extended until December the term of three contracts for the supply of medical supplies.
The first contract was extended by the Ministry of Finance and aims to acquire "products for oral and parenteral nutrition, contrast media, liquids and electrolytes, antiseptics, master formulas, vitamins and other products", reported PrensaLibre.com.
In deciding whether to approve Fomilenio II the Millennium Challenge Corporation verifies respect for institutions, good governance, transparency and ethics.
These are, according to Mari Carmen Aponte, the U.S. ambassador in El Salvador, some of the requirements which the country must take into account so that a second Millennium Fund is approved. "The eyes of the U.S.
Despite a direct order from the president, Costa Rican ministerial bureaucracy is still blocking a system which looks to eliminate corruption in public procurements.
The Ministry of Finance has not yet signed the decree establishing the mandatory use of Mer-Link in procurement processes, which could delay its implementation in January 2014.
Nacion.com reports: "Although the first version of the decree was received by the Ministry of Finance on 6 June, it has yet to be signed, a fact which will delay implementation of the system, according to the director of the Digital Government, Alicia Avendaño".
Congress discussed today in the first debate the bill adopting a custody regime applicable to shares issued to bearers.
From a press release issued by the National Assembly of Panama:
The Commission of Economy and Finance of the National Assembly will discuss in a first debate on Tuesday from 2:00 pm Bill 568 "to adopt a custody regime applicable to shares issued to bearers," which was presented by Minister of Economy and Finance, Frank De Lima.
Panama's government is to reactivate the discussion on a bill to immobilize bearer shares, with extensive consultation with the sectors involved.
The bill has the support of most international bankers and lawyers. However in the view of attorney Adolfo Linares, the law assumes submitting to the demands of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an organization which is trying to limit the jurisdiction of Panama's financial center in order to promote the interests of its member countries.
The government has started a consultation process in order to define an updated measurement system for national data, governed by an independent body.
From a press release by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
The Minister of Economy, Armando Flores, the Technical Secretary of the Presidency, Alexander Segovia and the representative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in El Salvador, Rodrigo Parot, inaugurated a forum on a new statistics system which the Government of El Salvador wishes to implement. The two-day event will include the participation of experts in the field, from Mexico, Chile and Peru.
Panamanian Congress will resume discussion of the bill that immobilizes bearer shares.
Frank De Lima, Minister of Economy and Finance, has sent a report to the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) to report on the postponement of the project in response to a letter from the Organization requesting a report on Panama's efforts in this area.
Business’ optimism over the budget for public works is overshadowed by a lack of transparency in tenders.
Construction unions in Nicaragua are demanding that Government tender processes in the Public Investment Program (PIP), whose budget is $ 558 million, are conducted in a transparent manner.
The president of the Nicaraguan Chamber of Construction Industry (CNC), Benjamin Lanzas, stated that in the tenders for the works there is not 100% transparency, which often leaves the private sector out of the competition, noted an article in Elnuevodiario.com.ni.
An alliance of small territories has been proposed to encourage a discussion with the OECD over financial centers, and bring it to the attention of the United Nations.
An article in Prensa.com examines the opinions of a variety of analysts at the second Step Latam Conference held in Panama, regarding pressure from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on countries to comply with their requirements on tax information exchange.
With the exception of Honduras, which reported a slight improvement, all countries in the region reported significant drops in the new edition of the Corruption Perception Index, by Transparency International.
In 2011 Costa Rica remained the best positioned in Central America, but fell from position 41 to 50, followed by El Salvador, which fell from 73 to 80, Panama (73 to 86), Guatemala (91 to 120) , Honduras (climbed from 134 to 129) and Nicaragua (dropped from 127 to 134).
The Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development, Fusades, has presented a report entitled "Legal and Institutional Situation" for the first half of 2011.
The aim of the report is to provide constructive feedback to enrich national discussion, leading to better public policies conducive to strengthening democratic institutions and promoting the business climate.