From May 2019, foreign customers will have to declare to local system banks that their funds meet their country's tax requirements.
The Superintendence of Banks of Panama (SBP) approved Agreement 02-2019, which implements the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, which consists of expanding the required due diligence measures of banks with their customers.
In the first quarter of 2018, credit granted by banking system entities grew by 5% compared to the same period in 2017, driven by consumer loans and business loans.
Figures from the Salvadoran Banking Association (Abansa), up to last March, indicate that "... most of the financing granted was oriented towards consumption, housing, commerce and manufacturing, which in some way stimulated productive activity."
In 2017, bank deposits totaled $11,715 million, 10% more than the figure registered at the end of 2016.
The "Financial Bulletin of the Banking System up to December 2017", prepared by the Salvadoran Banking Association, states that "... in the last five years, deposits have had average growth of 4.3%."
The Salvadoran banking system is maintaining stable performance, despite an operating environment deteriorated by a recent increase in the risk rating for sovereign debt.
From a report entitled "Panorama one of El Salvador's Largest Banks in the First Quarter 2017" by Fitch Ratings:
Stable Performance in Difficult Operating Environment
As of December 31, 2016 the balance of loans granted by banks and financial institutions grew by 5.5% compared to the same month in 2015, reaching $12,409,000.
Figures from the Financial System Regulator point out that in the same period deposits grew by 3%, reaching $11,243 million.Most noteworthy were private sector deposits, which increased by $380 million, while the public sector fell by $53 million.
Fitch Ratings predicts headwinds and higher risks for banks in Central American countries in 2016, resulting in lower credit growth.
From a report by Fitch Ratings Central America:
Headwind: Central American Banking systems face greater risks in 2016. A slowdown in growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the region and, consequently, lower credit growth is anticipated.
Analysis by Fitch Ratings projects that banks in the region will maintain strong balance sheets and have stable profitability in 2014.
Excerpted from Fitch Ratings:
Differential Growth and Opportunities: Low financial depth, in most systems, continues to provide significant opportunities for expansion of bank balance sheets; although this is limited by low average income levels.
The Banking Association has confirmed that the entities will not provide the Superintendent of Financial System with information requested from them on the 100 largest depositors of each entity.
Armando Arias, president of the Salvadoran Banking Association, said in an article on Elsalvador.com that "... they will respect the secrecy provisions of the Law on Banks and will not give to the Superintendency of the Financial System (SSF) confidential information on depositors, as this entity has requested."
From January 2013 financial institutions outside the U.S. will have to report on the accounts of citizens from that country, for tax purposes.
An analysis of the issue in an article in Capital.com focuses on Panama and risk management, but can be extrapolated to the entire Central American region.
“January 1 2013 will see the start of registration of agreements for compliance with FATCA for all entities in the financial sector, including insurance companies, brokerage houses, banks, credit unions and mutual funds that have U.S. customers, who must act accordingly. '
There is still uncertainty among U.S. citizens and companies abroad, regarding the effects of this law’s extraterritorial reach.
The start of registration stipulated by FATCA law (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) of the United States is January 1st, 2013, with enforcement beginning on 1st July of that year. However, many questions remain in several sectors such as insurance, securities and pensions, and even the regulators don’t have a clear idea of the effects of the law.
Financial companies must provide reports about their clients who are United States citizens under penalty of withholding 30% of the transfers that they make from that country.
The measure, which will apply from July 2013, is a consequence of the Law on Foreign Account Tax Compliance (FATCA), which requires foreign banks to sign an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and report this to their customers, U.S.