Panama is an International Banking Center, the most modern and successful in Latin America.  It offers investors over 100 Banks from more than 32 countries around the world. Banks from Asia, Europe and the Americas carry out their operations to and from Panama, not only as a consequence of the favorable environment established by the Banking Law, but also due to a series of comparative advantages facilitating banking activity. Included among these are the use of the US dollar as legal tender, the free flow of capital, the attractive monetary policy and other aspects of the legal environment.

Ok, but where do you put your money or who can you ask for money?

With all of the money laundering and other illicit activities going on in the world, banks have to be very careful about who they deal with.  You and I both know, you're a legitimate law abiding citizen, but that guy at the bank doesn't know you from Adam.

So in many cases, you can get your local bank to contact a Panamanian bank to help out with necessary reference letters and what have you.  You can also get a Panamanian lawyer to help you set up a Panamanian account.

There are also some Panamanian banks that provide financing for foreigners; here are a few:

Scotia Bank

HSBC

Banco Continental

Happy Banking!