Double-digit GDP growth for four of the past seven years, moderate inflation and high employment have had a positive impact on Panama’s retail sector. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, INEC), retail revenues increased by 19.1% between 2011 and 2012, outpacing those of other...
Panama’s advantages as a regional base for Latin America are of primary interest to international distributors. Its location along some of the world’s busiest trade lanes, the Panama Canal, a dollarised economy, stable political environment, and tax and fiscal incentives have all contributed to Panama’s proven ability to attract international...
Like its economy, Panama’s capital markets are highly internationalised. With a dollarised economy and free mobility of capital flows, Panama attracts brokers and financial institutions from other regions that choose the country to carry out their international financial operations, in other words the majority of their business. Another feature...
As in any mature banking sector, a small group of large banks dominate the market in Panama. By assets held in the third quarter of 2013, the five largest banks operating in Panama were Banco General, HSBC, Banco Nacional de Panama, Bladex and Bancolombia. Only Bancolombia does not operate in the national banking system (NBS), as it has an...
In the third quarter of 2013, credit was the main component of International Banking Centre (IBC) assets, reaching $62.5bn, 64% of the total. Interest generated by loans was the source of 58% of the IBC’s income from January to September 2013. In 2012 the volume of credit represented 154% of GDP in the IBC and 128% in the national banking system...
Divided between a national and an international banking system, the Panamanian banking sector was once dominated by foreign banks and global transactions, but now domestic and Latin American institutions are the main players. Despite the sector’s strong performance, large global banks like HSBC and BBVA decided to cease local operations, selling...
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