{"id":13115,"date":"2026-05-07T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=13115"},"modified":"2026-05-06T19:59:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T00:59:30","slug":"panama-wins-arbitration-banesco-ordered-to-pay-900k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/business-economy\/panama-wins-arbitration-banesco-ordered-to-pay-900k\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Wins Arbitration – Banesco Ordered to Pay $900K"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Republic of Panama has emerged victorious in an international arbitration dispute against Banesco Holding Latinoamerica S.A. and Banesco (Panama), S.A. The Finance Ministry’s Investment Arbitration Office confirmed the ruling. A tribunal at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)<\/a> issued the award on May 5, 2026.<\/p>\n

The tribunal determined that Panama did not violate its obligations under the invoked treaty. It rejected all claims presented by the banking entity. The ruling also ordered Banesco to pay Panama $900,000 in legal fees and procedural costs.<\/p>\n

\"Torre
Torre Banesco, sector El Rosal, Caracas, Venezuela By Mar\u00eda Alejandra Pe\u00f1alver – http:\/\/www.nmidigital.com\/arquitectura-e-ingenieria-venezolana-de-mano-judia\/, CC0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=81540729<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arbitration Tribunal Rejects Banesco Claims Totaling Over 13 Million Dollars<\/h2>\n

Banesco initiated the arbitration proceeding in 2023. The bank alleged that Panama had breached the Bilateral Investment Treaty<\/a> between Spain and Panama. Specifically, Banesco claimed violations related to fair and equitable treatment and the non-obstruction of foreign investments.<\/p>\n

The institution argued that various Panamanian authorities acted arbitrarily, discriminatorily and without transparency. Banesco also claimed due process violations regarding the execution or threatened execution of bonds issued to guarantee public works contracts. The bank sought compensation exceeding $13.5 million. That amount could have increased with additional bond executions, Banesco stated.<\/p>\n

The Tribunal concluded that Panamanian entities did not act arbitrarily or with the intention of harming Banesco, as the company alleged. The award highlights that the rulings of the Supreme Court of Justice reflect a reasonable interpretation of Panamanian law, which supports the actions of national authorities in this case. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The tribunal emphasized that the Fair and Equitable Treatment<\/a> standard invoked by Banesco does not constitute a guarantee against risks inherent in commercial activity. Panama was represented by the international firm LALIVE during the arbitration proceedings.<\/p>\n

\"Money<\/p>\n

Legal Victory Strengthens Panama’s International Investment Dispute Position<\/h2>\n

The ruling prevents a massive compensation payout from the Panamanian state. It reinforces Panama’s position in international legal defense regarding investment controversies. The tribunal found that Banesco had access to domestic legal mechanisms and used them to challenge unfavorable decisions.<\/p>\n

This victory carries significant weight for future investment disputes. The award establishes that reasonable judicial interpretations by Panamanian courts can withstand international scrutiny. Panama’s International Centre Investment Disputes<\/a> defense strategy has proven effective in this case.<\/p>\n

Finance Ministry officials declined to comment further on the ruling. The arbitration award is final and binding under ICSID rules. Banesco has 30 days to request an annulment, though legal experts consider such a move unlikely given the comprehensive nature of the tribunal’s findings.<\/p>\n

Panama has faced several investment arbitration cases in recent years. This victory marks a notable success for the government’s legal team. The $900,000 in legal costs awarded to Panama partially offsets the expenses incurred during the three-year arbitration process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Republic of Panama has emerged victorious in an international arbitration dispute against Banesco Holding Latinoamerica S.A. and Banesco (Panama), S.A. The Finance Ministry’s Investment Arbitration Office confirmed the ruling. A tribunal at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) issued the award on May 5, 2026. The tribunal determined that Panama did<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,36],"tags":[4154,4156,4155,4153],"class_list":{"0":"post-13115","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business-economy","8":"category-investments","9":"tag-banesco","10":"tag-banesco-icsid","11":"tag-icsid","12":"tag-panama-wins-international-arbitration"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13115"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13117,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13115\/revisions\/13117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}