Residents of Panama now owe more than 42.5 billion dollars to banks and other lenders. The latest data from the country’s credit bureau shows a small portion of that massive sum, over 1.3 billion dollars, is considered so difficult to collect it has been written off as a loss.
APC Experian, the national credit reporting agency, released its November 2025 figures this week. The report details the total debt held by Panamanians and foreign residents across banking, cooperative, and telecommunications sectors. While the overall delinquency rate sits at 6.5 percent, excluding the written-off accounts, a significant 3.11 percent of the total portfolio has been classified as a loss, forcing lenders to use their reserves to cover the shortfall.
“With just days left to close out the year, we perceive that credit behavior in 2025 remained similar to 2024,” said Giovanna Cardellicchio, General Manager of APC Experian. [Translated from Spanish] She noted a slight increase in lending toward year’s end with delinquency levels equal to or slightly below the prior period.
The bureau maintains credit histories for over 2.41 million individuals. This group includes 2.11 million Panamanian citizens and 304,801 foreign residents. The data provides a comprehensive snapshot of household financial health as the year concludes.
Mortgages Dominate the Debt Landscape
Housing loans represent the single largest category of debt. The total mortgage balance reaches 21.3 billion dollars across 340,787 individual loans. Each loan averages 62,527 dollars and carries a delinquency rate of 4.8 percent. Analysts at the credit bureau anticipate a potential reactivation of the real estate market starting in January 2026. That expectation is tied to the upcoming enactment of a new preferential interest law.
Automobile loans present a brighter spot in the data. They hold the system’s lowest delinquency rate at just 2.2 percent. The total auto debt amounts to 2.28 billion dollars linked to 166,015 vehicles. The average car loan now stands at 13,780 dollars, a figure six percent higher than the average from the previous year.
Credit Cards and Personal Loans Show Strain
Bank-issued credit cards continue to show the highest delinquency rate among major products. It is currently at 8.7 percent of the outstanding balance. That number, while high, does sit below the 10 percent rate recorded one year earlier. Total credit card debt owed to banks has reached 2.93 billion dollars spread across 865,113 active cards. The average balance per card is 3,391 dollars.
The picture for personal loans varies drastically depending on the lender. Banks hold 8.53 billion dollars in personal loan debt across 639,521 obligations. These average 13,339 dollars each with a 4.1 percent delinquency rate. In sharp contrast, personal loans from cooperatives and finance companies total 2.73 billion dollars distributed over 779,400 obligations. These smaller loans average just 3,509 dollars but suffer a much higher delinquency rate of 15.4 percent.
APC Experian’s report underscores this disparity. It shows 39.2 percent of cooperative and finance company personal loans are overdue by more than 60 days. Only 3.9 percent of bank personal loans are in the same overdue category when measured by the number of obligations. This highlights a segment of the population potentially relying on alternative lenders and struggling with repayment.
New Lending Continues Amid Cautionary Notes
The origin of new credit has not stalled. Banks approved 42,657 new loans in September 2025 alone. That marks an eight percent increase compared to September 2024. Cooperatives recorded a one percent rise in new loans, while finance companies reported a more substantial 13 percent growth in loan origination volume.
Manager Giovanna Cardellicchio paired this data with a strong consumer warning. She pointed to the seasonal increase in purchasing power from year-end bonuses and the thirteenth-month salary. This period often tempts people to spend more and shop online, sometimes making them targets for cyber fraud.
“This increase in commercial activity also comes with greater financial risks, like fraud, scams, or improper charges,” Cardellicchio stated. [Translated from Spanish] “Shopping in advance allows for price comparison, avoids impulsive decisions, and distributes expenses more evenly.”
She stressed the importance of a monthly budget and responsible credit use. Official data underscores her concern. The Attorney General’s Office has registered 105 computer crime cases so far in 2025. That already represents over a third of the incidents reported in all of 2024. The Public Ministry has also tallied 3,482 complaints for scams and fraud, reflecting a nine percent increase from the previous year.
Cardellicchio urged the public to verify website security before entering any personal data. She specifically advised against clicking links in text messages, WhatsApp, or emails to input banking information. The bureau’s report, while detailing billions in performing debt, keeps a close watch on the 1.3 billion dollar segment classified as a non-performing loan loss, a category some retirees have also faced in pension disputes. The overall financial picture for Panama remains one of high indebtedness paired with cautious, incremental growth in new credit as the new year approaches.