The risk of contagion to Panama from banking difficulties in the United States and Europe is “very limited”, an official with banking regulator SBP said on Thursday, adding that local lenders do not have exposure related to interbank deposits or to other investments.
“We can count on a very solid banking system,” Amauri Castillo, director of the SBP, told a conference in Panama City.
Panama’s International Banking Center (IBC) held assets totaling some $140 billion at the end of last year, up 5% from 2021.
Mr Castillo said last week when presenting 2022 results that key variables were all “robust”, including solvency, adequate capital and liquidity levels, with results showing earnings grew. increased by 45% compared to 2021, reaching higher levels than before the pandemic.
At the end of last year, Panama’s national banking system reported a capital adequacy ratio of 15.34% and a liquidity ratio of 57%.