For breaching the Securities Market Law an order has been given to indefinitely suspend the operations of the brokerage firm FDG Wealth Management.
From the resolution given by the Superintendency of Securities in Panama:
First: Order the indefinite suspension of the stock broker license which was granted by Resolution SMV No 34-2014 of 24 January 2014, until the stock broker firm FDG Wealth Management remedies breaches to the Stock Market Act that led to the suspension and to the Superintendency of securities adopting other measures.
The stock market authorities have ordered the reorganization of the brokerage firm, after it was included in the US Treasury Department's Clinton List.
Days after the Superintendency of Banks ordered the reorganization of Balboa Bank, the stock market regulator issued a resolution to do the same with the brokerage firm.
The reduction from 20% to 3% in the tax on stock profits was not enough to prevent trading on the secondary market in the first quarter of the year falling by 94%.
Between January and March $382 million in securities transactions were traded, 45% more than the amount recorded in the same period in 2015.
Data from the National Stock Exchange indicates that in March alone the volume traded by the five exchanges approved in the stock exchange system amounted to $94 million, an increase of 136% over the same month of 2015.
The sale of Citibank operations in El Salvador to Honduras' Grupo Terra has been formalized, with the insurer SISA included in the transaction.
From a statement issued by the Stock Exchange of El Salvador:
It was reported that subject to regulatory approvals from the competent Salvadoran authorities, Inversiones Financieras Citibank, S.A. has sold to the company designated by the Terra Group, all of its shares in Citi Tarjetas de El Salvador, S.A. de C.V.and Banco Citibank de El Salvador, SA and that Citibank Overseas Investment Corporation and Citibank Investments, SA, sold the company designated by the Terra Group its minority stake in Cuscatlán Valores, SA de CV Casa de Corredores de Bolsa.
During the year 28 new issues were registered, worth $1,868, which is an increase of 8.6% compared to 2014.
Panama Stock Exchange Annual Summary :
During that year, the corporate sector continued to have a leading role in this market, with 72.3% of total volume traded, which closed with an amount of US $5,246.9 million, a volume which in turn maintained almost the same level as in 2014 (US $5,256.2 million).
Lowering the tax on transactions for non-domiciled investors from 20% to 3% had a positive effect on the performance of the stock market in 2015, which grew by 6% compared to 2014.
The forecast made by Rolando Duarte, president of the Stock Exchange of El Salvador (BVES), is that this type of investment will continue to grow, thanks to the incentive which was first implemented in 2015.
Analysis of the current state of the Panamanian capital market, including the confidence threatened by various financial setbacks, and the opportunities to make the much needed structural changes.
Martesfinanciero.com reviews three episodes which have shocked the Panamanian financial market in recent weeks: "These events have shaken the financial system and put market players on alert.
Trading in 2015 surpassed the amount registered in 2014 by 7%, and the primary market grew by 6%, recording transactions for $8.272 million.
The stock market in Costa Rica has still not captivated the private sector, which mostly prefers to seek financing in the country's banking system or from abroad, before resorting to registering debt or share issuances in the local market.
In Panama reports state that $15 million in assets have been recovered in the process of forced liquidation of the brokerage firm Financial Pacific, an amount which covers only 70% of the total invested by customers.
Problems in the Panamanian stock market continue, and now it is the Liquidating Board of brokerage firm Pacific Financial which is giving the bad news to customers of the company.
A missed deadline has been missed on an issue of $4 million that was part of the restructuring of bond issues and securities made by the financial company La Generosa.
The restructuring of the financial company managed by businessman Jose Luis Ford failed to materialize and now the holders of bonds and securities issued by financial La Generosa will have to wait for the settlement of guarantees administered in a trust before they can recoup their investment.
In 2015 more than $1.2 billion in securities were traded on the stock exchange, a 21% increase compared to 2014, driven by trade in government securities.
Short-term operations, particularly negotiations on the repo market, which led movements in the Nicaraguan Stock Exchange, increased by 37% compared to transactions of these instruments in 2014.
Debt securities issued by private companies in the Guatemalan stock market increased by 20% in the last twelve months.
The sale of securities up to December 2014 increased from $239 million to $287 million, an increase of 20%, after a slight decline due to the withdrawal of 5 issues by one of the participating companies was registered in 2014. One factor that attracts companies is the cost of financing, which, depending on the type of instrument to be sold, may be less than the cost of a bank loan.
The effects of the bankruptcy of RG Hotels go beyond the losses faced by investors, with defects in the most dynamic stock market in Central America being identified.
The extent of the Superintendency of Securities responsibility for the negative effects of the bankruptcy of RG Hotels is one of the issues being raised by the lawyers defending foreigners who invested in the bankrupt company.
A reduction from 20% to 3% has been made on withholding tax on income from investments in securities traded on the local stock market.
From a statement issued by the Financial Supervisory Authority:
Recently, the Legislature approved a decree amending art. 158 of the Tax Code in order to decrease from 20% to 3% withholding tax to foreign persons or entities charged on income from investments in securities traded on the Stock Exchange in the Republic of El Salvador.