The CBI report was presented by Diamond to the country’s banking community, diplomats, senior Panamanian officials and the press in an official ceremony in which he announced that the center aims to become “the main financial center for Latin A
merica.”
In his presentation stressed that, even amid the economic downturn that affected Panama as a result of the global financial crisis, “in the last four years has maintained the growth trend of the CBI”, leveraged on sound control standards and prudence.
The Superintendency of Banks said on the other hand, it is estimated that in 2010 the Panamanian economy grew about 7% “marking a clear recovery and showing that the crisis has been overcome.”
With respect to net income in 2010, this amounted to $ 1,067 million, an increase of 16.1% compared to 2009.
Diamond deposits specified that the national banking system amounted to 44.195 million dollars in 2010, of which 44.3% are fixed term deposits, 18% and 15% savings deposits.
As liquidity in the system, said that reaches 65.76% of assets, 372 points less than in 2009 but well above the 30% required by international banking standards defined in the Basel II document.
On the external credit of $ 19.134 million reported in 2010, while in 2009 was 15.608 million, an increase of 22.6% and 0.8% NPL ratio in 2010 (1.1% in 2009).
The foreign portfolio was comprised of $ 9.583 million in provided by the Banking and 9.551 million for the international license banks.
Diamond explained that the general license banks (which may make transactions in Panama) had assets of $ 57.566 million in 2010, an increase of 7.5% over the previous year.
Domestic credit at December 2010 was 24,720 million dollars, 13.3% more than the same month in 2009, which target the private sector of $ 24.337 million and 383 million public sector.
He explained that the portfolio of domestic credit to private sector reached U.S. $ 24.337 million, an increase of 13.3% compared with 2009, of which 28% went to the mortgage industry, 27 trade, 21 personal consumption 10 to 14% construction and other sectors.
Over the past year new loan disbursements to the domestic market totaled U.S. $ 17.183 million, an increase of 13.9% compared with the previous period and distributed to trade (1,860 million), personal consumption ( 194 million), financial companies (119 million), mortgage (80 million) and agriculture (56 million).
The delinquency ratio of the local portfolio, 3.4%, fell 130 percentage points over December 2009.
Diamond in 2011 emphasized that more efforts be devoted to improve banking supervision, development of standards of corporate governance and the fight against money laundering and terrorism.