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HSBC Bank (Panama)
Encyclopedia
HSBC Bank S.A. is a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc head-quartered in Panama City
, Panama. The bank providesPersonal banking, Corporate banking and Treasury
services to Panama.
in 1993.
HSBC Bank (Panama) was incorporated on 1999, consistent with the HSBC Group's strategy of creating the global brand, HSBC. In 2000, HSBC acquired the banking operations of Chase Manhattan Bank
in Panama. In 2005, HSBC acquired the group of companies trading under the brand name Financomer, which entered the personal lending market in Panama in 1986.
In November 2006, HSBC acquired Grupo Banistmo
, the leading banking group in Central America
and gave HSBC access to new markets, with offices in Colombia
, Costa Rica
, El Salvador
, Honduras
and Nicaragua
. The merger of HSBC Bank (Panama) and Grupo Banistmo was successfully completed in 2007. But the subsidiary of Grupo Banistmo, Primer Banco del Istmo
, was retained until it mergered into HSBC Bank (Panama) in 2009.
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
, Panama. The bank providesPersonal banking, Corporate banking and Treasury
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
services to Panama.
History
The HSBC Group has been operating in Panama since 1972, when The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened the representative office in Panama City that year. Approval to operate as a licensed banking institution in Panama City was granted in 1973 and in the Colón Free Trade ZoneColón Free Trade Zone
The Colón Free Trade Zone is a gigantic entity at the Atlantic gateway to the Panamá Canal, dedicated to re-export an enormous variety of merchandise to Latin America and the Caribbean. It is also the largest free zone in the Americas and second largest in the world.It started operations in 1948...
in 1993.
HSBC Bank (Panama) was incorporated on 1999, consistent with the HSBC Group's strategy of creating the global brand, HSBC. In 2000, HSBC acquired the banking operations of Chase Manhattan Bank
Chase Manhattan Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
in Panama. In 2005, HSBC acquired the group of companies trading under the brand name Financomer, which entered the personal lending market in Panama in 1986.
In November 2006, HSBC acquired Grupo Banistmo
Grupo Banistmo
Grupo Banistmo was a Panamanian financial services company, and the largest in Central America. It was founded in 1984. In 1999 it began an expansion strategy that has resulted in the acquisition of banks in several Central American countries, as well as Colombia and the Bahamas. It was the...
, the leading banking group in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and gave HSBC access to new markets, with offices in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. The merger of HSBC Bank (Panama) and Grupo Banistmo was successfully completed in 2007. But the subsidiary of Grupo Banistmo, Primer Banco del Istmo
Primer Banco del Istmo
Primer Banco del Istmo trading as Banistmo or Banco Del Istmo is the largest bank in Panama and Central America, it is part of the HSBC Group following its former parent company, Grupo Banistmo’s acquisition by HSBC in November 2006. It was the subsidiary of HSBC Bank S.A...
, was retained until it mergered into HSBC Bank (Panama) in 2009.