The Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman, stated that the government will proceed with the elimination of bearer shares, a figure that he said is already practically obsolete in Panama. He explained that the focus is on identifying the ultimate beneficial owner, in line with recommendations 24 and 25, which aim for countries to have information on shareholding, control, and significant influence over legal entities. Aguirre indicated that Panama has already developed mechanisms to meet these standards, such as a single registry of ultimate beneficial owners, supervised by the Superintendence of Non-Financial Entities, which allows for information to be available for international cooperation and investigations. This followed intense debates between sectors opposing the project and others supporting it, which was even shelved for a time, but ultimately the shares immobilized but not eliminated. With this, Panama sought to improve its reputation and get off discriminatory lists. Julio Aguirre, president of Aguirre y Schwarz, noted that any eventual elimination of bearer shares must be understood within an international context linked to the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He added that the measure will be presented soon to the National Assembly and that it “basically” seeks to finalize the issue within the current legal framework. Through Cabinet Resolution No. 18 of March 24, 2026, the Council of Ministers authorized the Minister of Economy and Finance to propose to the National Assembly a bill that modifies and repeals articles of Law 32 of 1927 on corporations and dictates other provisions. Bearer shares were immobilized in 2013 with Law 47, which requires that physical certificates be held by a resident authorized agent or accredited institution to identify the ultimate beneficial owner.
