Agreement No. 5 (2025) Updating Guidelines in Articles 199 and 208 of the Banking Law

Republic of Panama
Banking Superintendence of Panama
AGREEMENT No. 5-2025
(July 15, 2025)
"Updating the guidelines established in Articles 199 and 208 of the Banking Law"

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS in exercise of its legal powers, and

CONSIDERING:

That following the issuance of Law Decree No. 2 of February 22, 2008, the Executive Branch prepared a systematic codification in the form of a Single Text of Law Decree No. 9 of 1998 and all its modifications, which was approved through Executive Decree No. 52 of April 30, 2008, hereinafter the Banking Law;

That in accordance with items 3 and 4 of Article 5 of the Banking Law, it is the objective of the Banking Superintendence to promote public confidence in the Banking System and to ensure legal balance between the banking system and its clients;

That in accordance with item 5, section I of Article 11 of the Banking Law, it is a technical attribute of this Board of Directors to establish, within the administrative scope, the interpretation and scope of legal or regulatory provisions in banking matters;

That Article 198 of the Banking Law establishes the special norms and exclusive competence of the Banking Superintendence to hear and protect the rights of banking consumers, as well as to define the scope and interpretation of banking consumer protection norms;

That Article 199 of the Banking Law defines the conditions and amounts that natural and legal persons acquiring a banking service or product, asset or liability, must meet to be considered banking consumers, and also empowers the Board of Directors to update said amounts taking into account, among other criteria, the consumer price index;

That Article 208 of the Banking Law defines the exclusive powers held by the Banking Superintendence to hear and decide in the administrative route the claims filed by banking consumers against banks, up to an amount of twenty thousand balboas (B/.20,000.00). Likewise, the Board of Directors is empowered to update said amounts, taking into consideration, among other criteria, the consumer price index;

That due to the increase in the consumer price index, which stands at 35% above the base of the inflation calculated percentage-wise since the adoption of the Claims Handling System instituted by the Banking Law in 2008 to date, an increase in the prices of banking products and services has been evidenced, reducing the effectiveness of the amounts established in Articles 199 and 208 of the Banking Law, resulting in the review and update of these;

That in working sessions of this Board of Directors, the need and convenience of updating the amounts established in Article 199 of the Banking Law have been brought to light, which are taken into consideration for the determination of a client as a banking consumer, as well as the maximum amount to hear and decide claims filed before this Superintendence, in accordance with Article 208 of the Banking Law.

Agreement No. 5-2025

AGREES:

ARTICLE 1. SCOPE OF APPLICATION. The provisions of this Agreement shall be applicable to official banks and general license banks.

ARTICLE 2. BANKING CONSUMER. This article increases the amounts contemplated in Article 199 of the Banking Law, through which the conditions to be considered a banking consumer are established.

1. Natural Persons:
   a. Financing intended for the personal consumption of the banking consumer or their family, up to an amount of sixty-eight thousand balboas (B/.68,000.00) per transaction. b. Financing for the purchase, construction, or improvements of the main residence of the banking consumer or their family, up to an amount of one hundred sixty-nine thousand balboas (B/.169,000.00) per transaction.
   c. Demand deposits whose holder is the banking consumer, up to an amount of twenty-seven thousand balboas (B/.27,000.00) per account.
   d. Savings or time deposits whose holder is the banking consumer, up to an amount of sixty-eight thousand balboas (B/.68,000.00) per account.

2. Legal Persons:
   a. Financing received for commercial purposes by micro and small enterprises, as defined by the Law on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, up to an amount of two hundred seventy thousand balboas (B/.270,000.00). b. Financing received through a legal entity for the final use of its shareholders, owners, family members, or beneficiaries thereof, up to an amount of one hundred sixty-nine thousand balboas (B/.169,000.00).

ARTICLE 3. CLAIM AMOUNT. In accordance with the powers established in the paragraph of Article 208 of the Banking Law, a new amount of up to thirty thousand balboas (B/.30,000.00) is established, so that the Banking Superintendence may exercise its exclusive power to hear and decide in the administrative route the claims filed by banking consumers.

ARTICLE 4. VALIDITY. The provisions of this Agreement shall begin to govern from September 1, 2025.

Given in the city of Panama, on the fifteenth (15) day of the month of July of two thousand twenty-five (2025).

NOTIFY, PUBLISH, AND COMPLY.

THE AD-HOC PRESIDENT, THE AD-HOC SECRETARY,
Adriana Raquel Carles María de Lourdes Marengo