Banking & Finance

Representing foreign financial institutions making cross-border loans to borrowers in Panama

With continuous years of healthy economic growth and an extremely well regulated banking centre, Panama has become a real regional player in Central America, the Caribbean and perhaps the northern of South America, and a great place for Latin American banks to set up their regional headquarters, producing a lot of work in the areas in which we have significant expertise and market share like bank financing, both in the public and private sectors.

ARIFA lawyers frequently participate in government and industry committees set up to draft or revise banking laws and regulations or attend to issues pertaining to the industry.

We have represented diverse international Banks that have entered into credit facilities with Panamanian banks.

Recent work highlights:

• Inversiones Atlántida's acquisition of Pacific Bank
• US$2 billion multi-facility transaction for Phoenix Tower International
• Banco Itaú Unibanco's acquisition of a 30% stake in Uruguayan fintechs Prex and Paigo
• Hotel La Compañía, a one-of-a-kind project aimed to support the revitalization and economic growth of Panama city’s historic district
• Initial purchasers in a US$1.38 billion Senior Secured Notes by AES Panama.
• McDermott International's restructuring of US$4.6 billion of funded debt under the protection of United States Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.