The law regulating the service of information on the credit history of consumers in the country was published in the Official Gazette.
After the legislative plenary approved in third debate initiative 424, which modifies Law 24 of 2002 related to this system of registration in the Panamanian Association of Credits (APC), in the last days of 2020 the Executive approved the bill.
In order to attend with greater agility, now in Panama the Superintendence of Banks will be able to manage via e-mail the claims submitted to it.
To speed up the processes for the attention of claims before the regulatory entity, the Board of Directors of the Superintendence of Banks of Panama (SBP), approved Agreement No. 8 -2020 of July 16, 2020, which amends Articles 8 and 13 of Agreement No. 3-2008.
Panamanian authorities announced that as of September 2020, it will begin to exchange financial information automatically with the South American country.
Negotiations between the two countries began in 2019 and at the technical meetings they agreed on the mechanisms that will be used to automatically double-track the information.
Because of the financial, operational and corporate governance situation of the banking entity, the Superintendence of Banks ordered the entire closure.
This measure was taken after the evaluation deployed in the Interim Administrator's Report, as well as the assessment of this Superintendence of Banks, details an official report.
In response to a request put forward by the banking association, the government has decided to eliminate from the banking modernization bill the proposal to modify the banking license scheme.
The initial proposal by the Executive Power was to replace the current system of banking licenses with another with a single license, and the regulator would supervise each bank depending on the type of activity.
Fitch Ratings, "Reputational risk events could put broad pressure on funding access and damage Panama's position as a regional financial center. "
From a report by Fitch Ratings:
Fitch Ratings-San Salvador/New York-15 March 2017: Reputational and conduct risk will remain key issues for Panamanian banks in 2017 owing to the interconnectedness of the regional financial system and ongoing high profile corruption cases that have affected multiple countries in Latin America, says Fitch Ratings. Reputational risk events could put broad pressure on funding access and damage Panama's position as a regional financial center.
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.
A rule has entered into force which requires free zone, construction, real estate and other companies to adopt a warning signs guide to prevent illegal money laundering activities.
Among the companies that will be supervised by the Administration of Supervision and Regulation of Non-Financial Subjects are: free zone companies, money remittance companies, real estate developers, pawn shops, security transport companies, sellers of vehicles for construction market.
The document published by the Superintendency of Banks in Panama explains the general operation of the Manual for Risk Based Supervision.
The Superintendency of Banks in Panama (SBP), published on its website, a Guide to micro-prudential supervision and Single Operation Manual Risk Based Supervision (Musber).
The MUSBER is an internal document for staff of the SBP, which describes the processes, procedures and methodology for the supervision of banks and banking groups. This document is essential to ensure the application of the same standards of supervision to all monitored subjects, without neglecting the professional judgment of the supervisor.
Construction companies, car sales companies and free zone companies are part of the list of entities whose activity will be controlled by the new Administration of Supervision and Regulation of Non-Financial Subjects.
The creation of the Administration for Supervision and Regulation of Non Financial Subjects is one of the requirements which the country must comply with as part of the process to get off the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The new regulator, led by Francisco Bustamante, also oversee the activities of "... pawn shops, casinos, exchange offices, corporations, savings and home loan societies, the National Lottery, companies engaged in marketing metals and precious stones, and security transport companies, among others. "
The 16 non-financial economic sectors included in the new law against money laundering will be supervised by a new Administration, which will operate independently of the Financial Regulator.
It has been announced that the new Administration of Supervision and Regulation will be attached to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, from where the person who will lead the new institution will be appointed.
In addition to the two audits a year, the idea of amending the legislation to increase the oversight of the 161 financial companies registered in the country is being contemplated.
According to the Panamanian authorities it is important to update the legislation and supervision of financial institutions, as it is an important sector which manages $1.17 billion in assets.
The microcredit portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean is worth over $40 billion, is awarded by more than 1,000 institutions, and reaches more than 22 million customers.
From a statement issued by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
A new report documents significant expansion of microcredit in Latin America and the Caribbean
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador - Microcredit in Latin America and the Caribbean remains strong and continues its expansion of the last decade, experiencing an increase in their number of customers, a variety of institutions and a downward trend in interest rates according to new data released here today by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the IDB Group.
Financial authorities in Panama are analyzing establishing a fee for regulation and supervision, and modifying aspects such as requirements for licenses for businesses and minimum amounts of capital required to operate.
The adjustments proposed fall into two major areas: the functions of regulation and supervision and legal adjustments for the trust business itself, including topics such as capacities and custodial powers of the Superintendency of Banks of Panama to regulate and supervise fiduciary and trust business enterprises.
Promotion is being given to the adoption of legislation on money laundering and terrorist financing, encompassing the recommendations of Financial Action Task Force (known as GAFI by its initials in Spanish).
"The new legislation not only implies a change in Law 42, but also changes to the Criminal Code," said Marisol Sierra, director of Prevention and Control of Illicit Operations at the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP).