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.
...and I will tell you who you are. In their quest to reduce exposure to risk, banking correspondents have started to restrict the services they provide to gambling companies, remittance companies, and brokerage firms that are not related to banking groups in the region.
In order to reduce risk exposure, some international banks with correspondents in Panama and other countries in the region are failing to open accounts for or provide services for companies whose income comes from activities such as remittances and gambling.The banks' argument is that they are more likely to be used for money laundering. Even non-banking brokerage firms claim to have difficulty offering their customers products and services,"... since banks wont open accounts in which customers can deposit their funds and receive a return on their investment."
A law has come into force which requires banks to register as atypical all transactions of more than $4 thousand that are realized in cash.
The decree by the Central Bank which comes into effect from April establishes new requirements for banks when dealing with transactions made both in domestic and foreign currency, as well as cash or through other means.
Amendments to the law on the financial system include changes to the conditions which must be present in order for an order to be issued for the forced liquidation of an institution.
From a statement issued by the National Congress:
The National Congress approved on Thursday, in the third and final debate, several articles of the decree containing the amendments to the Law on Financial Institutions, which aims to bring legislation into line with international standards and prevent banks from having problems which could lead to a forced liquidation, as recently happened with Continental Bank, through an early and timely action by the supervisory body, preventing savers or account holders from being affected.
The maximum amount allowed for banking transactions in cash in foreign and national currency has been lowered from $10,000 to $4,000.
From a resolution by the Central Bank of Honduras:
For purposes of the application of Articles 8, 12, 23 and 25 and in compliance with the provisions of Article 86 of the Special Law against Money Laundering the following amounts have been established:
In response to rumors of more interventions into financial institutions, the Superintendency of Banks in Panama says that they are unfounded, highlighting the strength of the banking system.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama:
The Superintendency of Banks in Panama made public knowledge, that as a result of taking operational and administrative control of Balboa Bank & Trust and its subsidiaries a number of comments and news stories have arisen which do not have any foundation regarding future actions that may be taken by this institution on other banks, or conditions of vulnerability of some institutions in our banking system.
As a result of the inclusion of both companies in the "Clinton" list drawn up by the US Treasury Department, the respective Superintendents have ordered interventions.
For its part the Administration of Supervision and Regulation of Non-Financial Subjects activated special supervisions in non-financial companies which are listed by the OFAC as part of the network, in this case those operating in Colon Free Zone: Grupo Wisa, S.A., Vida Panama S.A., Servicio de Equipo Rodante Incorporado and Grupo Cima S.A., among others.
It has been announced that the Guatemalan bank has acquired assets belonging to the Honduran group estimated at $108 million.
As part of the process of forced liquidation of Banco Continental, which began on October 12, the Bank founded in Guatemala acquired 32% of the assets, which has an estimated total value of $225 million.
Assurance has been given that companies where Continental Group or its shareholders have a minority participation may continue to operate normally.
As outlined in an article on Televicentro.hn , the general coordinator of Government, Jorge Ramon Hernandez Alcerro, stated that "... 'there are over 40 companies' which have with less than 50 percent in shares of Continental Group, whose president is the banker and politician Jaime Rosenthal."
Diagram showing the people and companies identified by actions related to money laundering, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury´s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The US Treasury Department has advised that it will not sanction individuals or institutions participating in the liquidation provided that those transactions do not benefit any individual or entity other than those previously identified by the OFAC.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department of the United States has issued a statement regarding the decision of the Honduran authorities to liquidate Continental Bank, after identifying the institution and several of its executives as being involved in drug money laundering:
It has been announced that deposits up to $9,200 (L200,000) per person will be returned, and then payments to employees, depositors and others, noting that "... there are sufficient resources to address them all."
The cause is the inclusion of the institution in the list of the U.S Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the freezing of its assets abroad.
Adherence to the group known as GAFISUD by its initials in Spanish will strengthen the work on preventing and combating money laundering and repressing terrorist financing .
A press release from the Superintendency of Banks of Guatemala reads:
The Government of the Republic of Guatemala reported that the incorporation of country into the Financial Action Task Force of South America (GAFISUD) was unanimously passed during the "XXVII Plenary of Representatives Financial Action Task Force of South America (GAFISUD)" held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from the 15th to 19th of July 2013.