Press Release

The Supervisory Commission of the Fondo de Ahorro de Panama issues its Opinion Report for the Fiscal Year 2020

Panama | June 21, 2021

The Supervisory Commission (the “Commission”) of the Fondo de Ahorro de Panama (“FAP” or “Fund”) issued on June 16, 2021, its Opinion Report for the Fiscal Year 2020 (the “Report”).  The Commission is the representative body of civil society within the governance of the Fund.

The Report – per the provisions of Law 38 of June 5, 2012, that creates the FAP (the “FAP’s Law”) – is issued annually to evaluate the Fund and its management model, corporate governance, financial results, and main strategic goals (access the 2020 Opinion Report here, in Spanish only).

In the Report, the Commission concluded that the Fund has been managed in accordance with all current legal and financial considerations, and in a manner consistent with prudence and transparency principles.

The Commission, chaired in the current period by the Representative of the National Council of Private Enterprise, expressed that “This Report seeks to provide the National Government an independent assessment of the Fund’s value proposition and importance to the Panamanian people. Regarding the role of the Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission highlights the Fund’s swift actions to provide the National Treasury with B/.105 million, at the request of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and thus executing for the very first time its main legal mandate: to be a stabilization mechanism for the country in case of emergency due to natural disasters and/or economic slowdown.”

The Commission included in its Report the following opinions and observations that in its estimation strengthen the Fund’s long-term management for the benefit of future generations of Panamanians:

  • Protection of assets: to consider including the Fund in a constitutional article and provide it legal personality.

  • New Capital: the incorporation of new capital to the Fund from the pending contributions to be received from the Panama Canal, income from dividends and sale of partially sate-owned enterprises, real-estate assets, in addition to the income from concessions from mining and telecommunications activities.

  • Risk Mitigation: purchasing catastrophic insurance coverage to hedge the contingency risk derived from the financial exposure inherent in natural disasters.

  • Withdrawal of funds: to have the National Government issue a report on the uses and scope of the funds received from the FAP to address the COVID-19 pandemic economic impact.

Members of the Commission
The Commission is composed of representatives of the following organizations:

  • The Association of Certified Public Accountants of Panama;

  • The Association of Economists of Panama;

  • The Ecumenical Council of Panama;

  • The National Council of Organized Workers; and

  • The National Council of Private Enterprise.

 

About the Fondo de Ahorro de Panama
The Fund was created by Law 38 of June 5, 2012, whose main objectives are:

  1. Establish a long-term savings mechanism for the Panamanian State; and

  2. Establish a stabilization mechanism in case of a state of emergency (declared by the Cabinet’s Council) and economic slowdowns.

Contact: Administration, +507-394-5776/5706, administrador@fondoahorropanama.com

For additional information visit www.fondoahorropanama.com
 
 
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