Really? Which banks did you guys use? From what I read on the internet and an email I received from one of their representatives, a bank reference is a minimum, among other things. And when did you open your accounts? Things changed after 9/11. And, yes, I'll be going down there as a tourist very soon.
Well I wont jump the gun yet since perhaps I am remembering wrong. A close friend who is a Panama lawyer said he has heard of reference letters recently so maybe there is truth to it. Dont want to misinform so I take it back lol...
Yes of course you will need a bank reference but that is something quite different to IB dollying up a letter. In fact, why did you mention IB to the banco at all in the early stages of the conversation. The banco is required under FATF to know the money flow. All they need to know at the front end are the linking accounts. ie presumeably you trade (hoping to trade) profitably, therefore the inflow link will be from an IB account. This means that if you are funding IB with money other than trade profits (ie you provide IB with a cash inflow) then it is IB's problem and not the Panamanian banco. The outflow is your business. I would mention however, that if you reside in a western tax zone ( Europe, US, Canada, Aust etc) and you are thinking of using a Panamanian credit card in your home country, you will light up like a christmas tree.
I meant to add that I use a local bank and an international bank in Panamà and they essentially work the same.
I never mentioned IB. Just want to get more supporting materia because those bancos have different requirement and some takes much longer to open an account. And I haven't decided which bank to use yet. I think I'll go with the statements if I can't get a letter from IB. Thanks much.
JM good luck. Be very careful of where you use cc if that is your intentions. ALL western tax zones are using FATF as an excuse to go on witch hunts and all cc issued in tax free zones are targeted. The cc companies are obligated to forward details of these cc to the tax departments which in turn centralize this info. They have recently picked up over 3,500 aussies using cc issued from tax free zones. Although the issuing bancos will fail to cooperate, the tax boys will attack the problem through a full review or arbitrarily assign penalties and interest to your account.
My advice is use an international bank located there like HSBC or Citibank. This way you can move money or do transactions outside the country easier if possible. I think Bank of America was down there but charged a lot of fees, I may not remember correctly but HSBC/Citi over Banco General or GlobalBank.
If you use an international banco be aware that their first loyalty is to their HQ FOLLOWED by their interpretation of Panamanian law.
IF you have a basic checking/savings account I think you should be alright. The banks are welcome to their own interpretations of Panama Law but they need Panama lawyers and Panama courts to enforce anything so not a big concern unless you are doing something extremely complicated and unique. For a checking/savings account I don't think you need to worry about HSBC's intepretations of Panama Law. Hsbc can have their own interpretations of US banking law but a U.S based HSBC branch is subject to U.S. laws and U.S. intepretations for funds in the US.