Panama Looks to ‘Diversify’ Financial Services
Panama’s campaign to better integrate with international banking standards took a step forward this week, when the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced a plan to “diversify its financial services platform.”
The move is specifically designed to represent the government’s “commitment to uphold international transparency standards and strengthen its service-sector offerings,” according to a press release. The new plans will be “established in-line with the principles of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and based on feedback from the private sector.”
The reference to OECD standards is a clear message. As we reported a couple of weeks ago, the OECD is organizing one of its key global forums in Panama later this year. Panama is working hard to correct the outdated perception of Panama as a shady area for financial dealings, which took another hit when the Panama Papers made international headlines.
The government is discussing 11 new financial products, including a proposal for “establishing a Panamanian ‘Bank of Banks’ to provide currency payment and settlement services in Panama, and to emphasize not only the geographical location but also other comparative advantages such as the dollarized economy and the absence of a central bank.”
Panama’s connection to the U.S. dollar and lack of a central bank is seen as one of the Panama’s key economic advantages, economy’s key benefits, noted this recent column in the Washington Times.
“We are working on creating 11 deliverables with feedback from the private sector and aligned with international transparency principles that will allow us to maximize our competitive advantages and strengthen our attractiveness to global investors as a financial market leader,” Ricardo Zubieta, chief of staff of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said in the press release.
The plan will also include “provisions on FinTech to improve Panama’s implementation of technology on its services platform,” Zubieta said.
