Panama banking center assets have grown by 35% in the last three
years.
The banking center currently has 94 entities: 2 official banks,
18 Panamanian banks with a general license; 29 foreign banks with a
general license, 29 internationally licensed and 16 representative
offices.
The head of the Banking Superintendence, Ricardo Fernandez, said
that there are six other banks interested in setting up in Panama.
Fernandez added that in the last three years growth in assets was
35%, with domestic credit growing steadily by above 10%, driven
mainly by mortgage industries, commerce, personal consumption and
construction. Deposits, the main source of resources for banks,
also maintained a 10% growth and closed the first half of the year
with more than $81.4Bn. Of that total, 58% are local deposits.
