ICAZA, GONZÁLEZ -RUIZ & ALEMÁN, has professionals with extensive experience in regulatory matters and practice in procedures for obtaining licenses for Broker-Dealer Houses, Investment and Private Pension Funds Managers, Investment Advisors and in legal advice on the formalities of issuing securities to be offered on the Stock Exchange in the Republic of Panama, as well as the formalities for private placements.

We also advise intermediaries in consultations related to the operation and legislation in force. We support the client in the prudential supervision stage, both ordinary and extraordinary, and in legal audits of dossiers to provide a reasoned criterion of compliance with the wide range of applicable regulations.

The Securities market is a very specialized subject; therefore, the team assigned to its attention has the training and experience to support clients who request timely, proactive, and accurate advice.

The Republic of Panama has an international financial market, which comprises the banking sector, securities market, and the insurance and reinsurance sector.

While it is true that the banking sector has a consistent development, the securities market has been taking significant steps for both regulation and operation.

Through Decree-Law No. 1 of 1999, the National Securities Commission was created as the regulatory entity for the sector, and in 2011, an important amendment in its structure was made by establishing the Superintendence of the Securities Market as the governing entity.

Subsequently, in 2011, Law 67 was passed, and the regulations applicable to both issuers and intermediaries of the Securities Market were updated. The main amendments to the law were the inclusion of new legal concepts such as the regulated trading of Forex through broker-dealer houses and new participants in the market such as price suppliers, providers of administrative services of the securities market the over-the-counter market, among others.

The importance of the above is that together with the self-regulated organizations (Stock Exchange and Securities Central), broker-dealer houses, investment advisors, investments and private pension administrators, registered issuers, rating agencies, issuers, and other regulated intermediaries, a solid structure of participants in the Securities Market is established, characterized by the execution of transactions in or from Panama.

In addition, the legal amendment introduces mechanisms that provide more flexibility to the concept of registration by recognized jurisdiction, and the regulatory development through covenants allows concepts such as remote operators in such a manner that the tools for a regional securities market are established.