Initially the ordinary period to declare the beneficial owners of the companies was due on April 30, but the authorities decided to extend the deadline to May 31.
This declaration was to be submitted during the month of April; according to resolution N°DGT-ICD-R-06-2020, however, due to the state of emergency facing the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these institutions agreed to extend the deadline, in order to guarantee the fulfillment of this obligation and facilitate voluntary compliance, informed the Ministry of Finance.
In Costa Rica, the Constitutional Chamber ruled in favor of the Observatorio Ciudadano de Transparencia Fiscal, an institution that filed an appeal to obtain information on how many individuals appear as owners of shares.
After the Observatory requested to the Ministry of Finance statistical information that can be obtained from the Registry of Shareholders and Beneficial Owners (RABF), the authorities refused.
Telefonica announced that it had reached an agreement with Liberty Latin America for the sale of the entire capital stock of its operation in Costa Rica, a transaction totaling $500 million.
In Guatemala, Banco de Inversión S.A. acquired 60% of the asset portfolio of Financiera de Occidente S.A., which was suspended in December 2019.
On December 13, 2019, the Monetary Board reported that because management practices were detected that put its solvency and soundness at risk, it decided to suspend the operations of Financiera Occidente S.A., an entity that at that time represented 0.35% of the total assets of the local banking system.
The Superintendence of Competition authorized the merger request submitted in 2019 by the conglomerates Inversiones Financieras Imperia Cuscatlán and The Bank of Nova Scotia.
The Superintendence of Competition notified Imperia Intercontinental Inc., the main shareholder of Banco Cuscatlán, that the request to purchase the banking and insurance operations of the Canadian entity was accepted.
Imperia Intercontinental Inc., the main shareholder of Banco Cuscatlán, reached an agreement to purchase the banking and insurance operations of the entity of Canadian origin.
The sale of Scotiabank's operations in El Salvador is subject to authorization by the Superintendence of Competition and the Superintendence of the Financial System.
In Panama, the owners of Grupo Rey agreed to sell 60% of the shares to Ecuador's Corporacion Favorita, a transaction that could cost $273 million.
The Share Acquisition Public Offer (OPA) launched by Corporacion Favorita was established at $8.58 per share, in which the Ecuadorian group committed to purchase 60% of the issued shares, for which it will acquire approximately 31.8 million shares.
With a $1.460 million investment, Millicom International Celular completed the acquisition of 80% of the capital of Cable Onda, one of the country's telephone, Internet and cable TV operators.
Cable Onda announced in a press release that following an extensive conversation process, Cable Onda S.A. and Millicom International Cellular S.A. have established a strategic alliance in which Millicom assumes an important ownership of Cable Onda as well as the business management. The agreement includes Telecarrier and Fronteras Securtity.
With a $250 million investment, Liberty Latin America completed the acquisition of 80% of the capital of Cabletica, one of the country's leading cable operators.
Liberty Latin America operates in Chile, Panama and the Caribbean, and with the purchase of Televisora de Costa Rica S.A. will access the Costa Rican market through this cable operator that has more than 327 thousand subscribers.
It has been announced that Global Bank Corporation will sign an agreement to acquire 99.97% of the shares of Banco Panameño de la Vivienda, for an estimated price of $245 million.
With the acquisition of Banvivienda, Global Bank will incorporate more than 39 thousand customers, 11 branches, which will be added to the 165,000 customers and 35 branches that the bank currently has.
In Panama, the portfolio managed by brokerage firms totaled $35,577 million at the end of the first half of the year, 11% more than was registered in the same period in 2017.
According to the Superintendency of the Securities Market, of the total portfolio, 43% correspond to bonds, another 27% of the assets belong to common shares, and 21% is made up of other securities.
Grupo Prival, a financial institution of Panamanian origin, has announced the sale of its subsidiary Prival Securities El Salvador, on May 8, 2018.
Elcapitalfinanciero.com reports that "... In a note sent to the Superintendency of the Stock Market (SMV) for public knowledge, the banking institution reported that the change was duly notified and authorized by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP). "
The bill against money laundering which is making progress in the National Assembly, includes prohibiting corporations from issuing bearer shares.
The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly approved the ruling of the new Law against Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism and Financing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.