Panama

Awards of Excellence
Latin American regional awards

Banco General made $22.4 million in consolidated profits during the first quarter of 2007, an increase of 16.6% on the first quarter of 2006. In January, the bank agreed a merger with Banco Continental to create the largest local bank in Panama and the second-largest bank operating in the country. Ownership of the new banking group, called BG Financial Group, will be shared 61:39 between Banco General and Banco Continental, respectively. It will have assets of more than $7 billion, a loan portfolio of $4.5 billion and a capital base of $800 million.

After the integration, Banco General will have some 2,700 professional staff serving about 300,000 clients, with more than 60 branches. It will also have a network of representative offices in central America, Colombia and Mexico. The group will be listed on Panama’s Stock Exchange.

The two banks are expected to operate independently until integration is completed in October this year. The Banco General brand will remain but Banco Continental will be phased out.

In July last year, HSBC paid $1.77