PANAMA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Kharla Aizpurua O., Roberto Vidal and Miguel Arias, Morgan & Morgan
ing traditional business models based on regula - tions related to traditional banking and financial services. This approach helps identify grey areas in existing regulations where they may operate, mitigating risk and ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations to facilitate easier market entry. The following laws are relevant in this regard. The Banking Law Executive Decree 52 of 2008 (the “Banking Law” ) prohibits any person from raising resources from the public through the acceptance of money on deposit or any other modalities in or from Pan - ama unless they have a license or authorisation issued by a competent regulatory authority or engage in activities expressly exempted by law from such requirements. The Securities Law Decree Law 1 of 1999 (the “Securities Law” ) defines securities and excludes certain instru - ments such as non-negotiable certificates issued by banks, insurance policies, and other instruments determined by the Superintendence Law 48 of 2003 (the “Remittance Law” ) regulates Money Remittance Houses and covers activities involving money transfer through various means, both domestically and internationally. Law 23 Law 23 of 27 April 2015, as amended ( “Law 23” ), adopts measures to prevent money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of weapons of mass destruction and applies to: • regulated financial entities ( sujetos financi - eros regulados ) including, but not limited to, as not being securities. The Remittance Law
banks, trust companies, financial companies, leasing companies, factoring companies, issuers of credit cards, debit cards and pre - paid cards, and entities that issue payments or electronic money, among others (all of which, for the purposes of this law, are super - vised by the SBP); and • regulated non-financial entities ( sujetos finan - cieros no regulados ), which include compa - nies doing business in the Colón Free Trade Zone, foreign exchange companies, casinos, real estate companies or brokers, compa - nies in construction, and lawyers and certi - fied public accountants and notaries which perform certain specific activities including incorporating, operating, and managing legal persons, managing bank accounts (savings or investments), and acting as a resident agent, among others. The Intendencia de Supervi- sion y Regulación de Sujetos No Financieros supervises the regulated non-financial enti - ties. Under Article 22 of Law 23, the regulated finan - cial entities supervised by the SBP include mon - ey remittance companies and companies that issue payment services and electronic money. These entities must be registered before the SBP as such and comply with the applicable AML/ KYC requirements under Law 23 and its regula - tions and rules issued by the SBP, which include compliance with certain reporting. These enti - ties, which are regulated financial entities, are also supervised by Unidad de Analisis Financiero (UAF), which also requires specific reporting. Law 42 Law 42 of 23 July 2001, as amended, and its regulation Executive Decree 213 of 26 October 2010( “Law 42” ) define financial companies and regulate the offering and granting of commercial and personal loans in or from Panama. A license
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