| Offshore
Banks In Panama |
| & Domestic
General License Banks In Panama |
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| International
License or "Offshore" banks |
| International
License or "Offshore" banks, can only accept deposits from persons
or organizations located overseas. - - However a number of the General
License Banks are quite suitable for private banking. |
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| General
License Banks |
| General
License banks operate full service banks in Panama and compete for
domestic deposits and loans. While Panama has no Central Bank, the Banco
Nacional de Panamá is the National
Bank of Panama and is a government owned bank |
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| Panama's
banking sector is stable & successful. Why? |
| Why is Panama's
banking sector so stable and successful? How does Panama itself remain
so finacially stable? Click
here for an interesting answer to these questions
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| International
Banks (Cont.) |
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| Bancolombia
(Panamá), S.A. |
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| Banex
International Bank Corp. |
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| BCT
Bank International, S.A. |
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| Blubank,
Ltd. |
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| Banco
Colpatria-Red Multibanca Colpatria, S.A. |
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| ES
Bank (Panamá), S.A. |
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| First
Central International Bank |
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| ES
Bank (Panamá), S.A. |
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| GNB
Sudameris Bank, S.A. |
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| GTC
Bank, Inc. |
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| International
Union Bank, S.A. |
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| Popular
Bank Ltd., Inc. |
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| General
License Banks (Cont.) |
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| General
License Banks (Cont.) |
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| BNP
Paribas Sucursal Panamá |
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| Citibank,
N.A. |
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| Credicorp
Bank, S.A. |
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| Global
Bank Corporation |
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| HSBC
Bank (Panamá), S.A. |
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| Mega
International Commercial Bank |
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| MiBanco,
S.A. B.M.F |
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| MMG
Bank Corporation |
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| Multi
Credit Bank, Inc. |
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| Primer
Banco del Istmo, S.A.(BANISTMO) |
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| HProdubank
(Panamá), S.A. |
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| St.
Georges Bank & Company, Inc. |
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| Stanford
Bank (Panamá), S.A. |
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| Towerbank
International, Inc. |
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 Take
Note: - - Q: Why is Panama's banking sector so stable
and successful? How does Panama itself remain so finacially stable?
A:
Panama's
economy is service-based, heavily weighted toward banking, (in addition
to commerce and tourism.) Panama has no Central Bank per se. The absence
of a central bank in Panama has created a completely market-driven money
supply. Panama's market has also chosen the US dollar as its de facto currency.
The country must buy or obtain their dollars by producing or exporting
real goods or services; it cannot create money out of thin air. In this
way, at least, the system is similar to the old gold standard. Annual inflation
in the past 20 years has averaged 1%; the lowest rate of inflation in Latin
America. This market-driven system has created an extremely stable
macroeconomic environment. Panama is the only country in Latin America
that has not experienced a financial collapse or a currency crisis since
its independence. |
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| In 1971 the
government passed a banking law that allowed for a very liberal and open
banking system, without any government agency of consolidated banking supervision,
and confirmed that no taxes could be exacted from interest or transactions
generated in the financial system. The number of banks jumped from 23 in
1970 to 125 in 1983, most of them being international banks. The banking
law promoted international lending, and because Panama has a territorial
tax system, profits from loans or transactions made offshore are tax free. |
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| This, and
the presence of numerous foreign banks, allows for international integration
of the system. Unlike other Latin American countries, Panama has no capital
controls. Therefore, when international capital floods the system, the
banks lend the excess capital offshore, avoiding the common ills, imbalances,
and high inflation that other countries face when receiving huge influxes
of capital. |
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| There are
more than 120 banks in Panama City, making it a serious player in the international
financial stage. Panama is the banking hub for much of Latin America.
Money flowing in and out of the region usually passes through Panama in
order to make use of its low tax corporate structure and its stable financial
system of banking. Panama's banking sector is one of the most dynamic areas
of the economy. As of May 2003, Panama's 77 major banks reported total
deposits of $24 billion, and $33 billion in total assets, an eight percent
decrease from 2002. In 2003, approximately five percent of the total credit
portfolio represented loans to the public sector. Loans to the private
sector in Panama reached US$11 billion, or 95 percent of total credit. |
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| It is difficult,
if not impossible for a foreigner not located in Panama to open a bank
account online. One may, via the internet, go through an intermediary to
open an account; but in the final analysis one has to come to Panama in
order to finalize the opening of the bank account. There are ways around
this [under development] |
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More
Offshore Banks in other jurisdictions |
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