Panama National Bank or Banco Nacional de Panama

Introduction – Some controversy has been created about what is the Panama National Bank. Banco Nacional de Panama translated into English is Panama National Bank or National Bank of Panama. This bank is backed by the Panama government and it is the only bank in Panama backed by the Panama government. Calling a local privately owned bank "Panama National Bank" or "National Panama Bank" is in our opinion likely to be misleading to foreigners and we wish to clear this up for our readers.

First we would like to show you a picture of the Banco Nacional de Panama building (Panama National Bank in English) and please note it says BNP on it.

In fact all the banks in Panama are separate Panama banking corporations under a Panama Banking license and covered by Panama Banking Secrecy. If there are other banks in other countries using the same name that does not make them branches of the Panama Bank. The banks using the same name in other countries cannot access Panama banking records. If they did so it would violate Panama banking law and the executives of the bank could go to jail, you could sue them and you could also sue the bank with their deep pockets for damages and punitive damages. Not going to happen. If the Panama bank were to get into trouble (something that has not happened since the Americans left in 2000) the banks in the other countries with the same name would step in to shore up the Panama bank to avoid any blemishing of the international which is used in numerous countries.

So the jurisdiction is important for secrecy and one should also look to see that the bank has other "partners" sharing the same name around the world that will step in to shore things up if needed.

Banco Nacional de Panama – This is the name of the Panama National Bank. This is the only government owned bank in Panama. The Panama government backs this bank. The website is here:

http://www.banconal.com.pa/

Account Opening – We can open accounts up at Banco Nacional de Panama. We frequently do this for various immigration programs requiring a bank deposit. The requirements are as follows:

1. Applicant must come to Panama for an interview at the bank, a must.
2. Applicant must provide three bank reference letters. These reference letters must be addressed to Banco Nacional de Panama. This will leave records at the bank writing the reference letter with a trail right to the bank in Panama. Our other Panama banks accept reference letters made out to: Panama Legal, S.A., or the personal name of one of our lawyers (this is a meaningless bit of information that stays in your file at the bank but would not provide any sort of trail and our lawyers are bound by attorney client privilege), to whom it may concern or even addressed to the applicant themselves. More security and fewer trails to your money this way.
3. The applicant must provide three business reference letters addressed to the Banco Nacional de Panama from businesses that know you, did business with you and will write such a reference letter.
4. The applicant will need at least two pieces of government issued photo ID one of which must be a current passport.
5. The applicant will have an interview at the bank and should be prepared to discuss source of funds, nature of business, size of deposits, etc.
6. The bank account may take several weeks to open.

Dealing with Banco Nacional de Panama – They can be difficult to deal with compared to regular commercial banks in Panama. They really pursue due diligence with vigor. Any transaction over $10,000 coming in or going out will be challenged and requires submission of due diligence documentation such as contracts, invoices, etc. This may cause a delay in posting of wires for credit to your account or a similar delay in departing wires. The regular commercial banks do not require this type of due diligence for small transactions.

When is Banco Nacional de Panama Useful – For one it is useful for various immigration programs requiring a bank deposit but some of the private commercial banks are also allowed to accept such deposits for immigration purposes as well. It is also useful for those that lawfully operate with large amounts of cash. They have a branch conveniently located inside the Panama Tocumen International Airport. This means if you are carrying cash in large amounts you can declare the cash on arrival and while still remaining inside the secure area of the airport deposit your cash in the Panama National Bank. This eliminates the chance of getting robbed because someone marks you to robbers while declaring the money in the special section of customs. Someone may see you go in and come out and follow up setting up a car ambush. These things happen with large amounts of cash.

Not declaring the cash is illegal and can result in confiscation of the money. When declaring funds you will need to get into source of funds and also funds should be declared in the departure country as well. This would be one advantage the Banco Nacional de Panama may have for some people like those who work in the duty free zone and must operate with cash. Same for some who may be paying for a ship to pass through the Panama Canal.

We as a firm rule do not work with people needing to deposit large amounts of cash – we do not accept such clients.