Panama Announces
$1.11 Billion Fund To Aid Banks
Panama - (Reuters) - Panamanian President Martin Torrijos said
on Wednesday the government will create a us$1.11 billion fund to
help local banks struggling to tap tight international credit
markets.
Torrijos said in a speech the fund would be set up by loans from the
Andean Development Corporation (CAF), the Inter-American Development
Bank and the National Bank of Panama to aid cash-strapped banks
operating in the country if needed.
"The resources ... will be managed by the National Bank of Panama
through a fund that will grant credit to banks and financial
institutions operating the local market," Torrijos said.
The measure was the result of a three-month investigation into the
impact of the U.S. economic slowdown on Panama, a key transit route
in world trade between Asia and the United States' Atlantic coast,
he said.
Torrijos and banking industry representatives said the country's
banking sector, a major component of the local economy, is well
capitalized and not in danger of collapse.
"This is not a program of subsidies or financial rescue, it is a
preventive measure that will benefit all Panamanians," Torrijos
said. |
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