Panama Develops Long-Term Plan to Diversify its Financial Platform

PANAMA CITY, March 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the Panamanian Government's commitment to uphold international transparency standards and strengthen its service-sector offerings, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced today that it is developing a long-term plan to diversify its financial services platform. As part of this new plan, 11 new financial products 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.

Among the initiatives being discussed, the plan includes 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.

"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," said Ricardo Zubieta, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. 

Zubieta also added that the plan will include provisions on FinTech to improve Panama's implementation of technology on its services platform.

SOURCE Panama Ministry of Economy and Finance