Panama · SMV · Casa de Valores

Panama Casa de Valores Licence: Apply or Acquire

Panama's Licencia de Casa de Valores is the SMV permission for a securities intermediary operating in or from Panama. It supports brokerage and dealing in securities and financial instruments, with forex, custody and investment advice available within the recorded scope. SKY7 coordinates fresh applications and acquisitions of existing licence-holding companies as of July 2026.

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B/.350,000: Minimum total capital stated in the SMV's official Casa de Valores guidance
B/.20,000: Statutory application fee for a Licencia de Casa de Valores
B/.15,000: Minimum annual SMV supervision fee under the current securities law
Prior consent: SMV consent before a share change that affects control of the licensed company

The route in short

A regulated platform for securities and client-facing forex

The Casa de Valores route is designed for businesses that buy and sell securities or financial instruments for clients or for their own account. The permission can also encompass services recorded in the firm's business plan, including custody, investment advice, portfolio-related functions, lending connected with securities and forex activity. The exact operating scope is set through the application and the SMV licence record.

There are two practical entry routes. A new applicant builds the Panamanian company, governance, locally based team, systems and control environment around its intended services. An acquirer purchases the shares in an existing licensed company and follows the SMV's prior-consent process for the ownership change. SKY7 maps the permission scope first, then coordinates the regulatory, corporate, transaction and operating workstreams around the selected route.

Permission scope

What a Licencia de Casa de Valores supports

Article 50 of Panama's securities-market law reserves the business of a casa de valores in or from Panama to persons licensed by the Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores. The core business is receiving, transmitting and executing orders in securities and financial instruments for clients or for the firm's own account. Offering and opening investment accounts also sits within the Casa de Valores role.

Acuerdo 2-2011 permits a wider service set when it is declared in the approved business plan. That set can include investment advice, discretionary account management, placement and underwriting work, custody accounts, individual portfolio management, payment-agent and transfer functions connected with securities, securities lending, margin lending and capital-markets products. A separate investment-administrator licence applies where the firm manages investment companies.

Client-facing forex has a defined place in this framework. Article 72 assigns the habitual purchase and sale of currencies for investment purposes on behalf of clients to casas de valores. Proprietary exchange, bank treasury activity, exchange houses and remittance businesses follow the specific exceptions and sector routes stated in the law. SKY7 classifies the proposed products, customers, execution chain and custody model before the application scope is fixed.

Operating foundation

The platform the SMV expects to see

Panamanian operating base

Commercial-category offices in Panama, locally maintained books and records, and at least two permanent residents authorised to receive official notices.

Licensed senior functions

At least one full-time Ejecutivo Principal, one Corredor de Valores and one Oficial de Cumplimiento, supported by the applicable individual SMV licences.

Controller evidence

A transparent ownership chain, beneficial-owner forms, source-of-wealth evidence, professional history and financial standing for the people behind the applicant.

Business and financial plan

A two-year plan connecting services, customers, counterparties, staffing, systems, projected financials and capital to a coherent operating model.

Client and control framework

Client agreements, conduct arrangements, a filed fee brochure, AML procedures, internal controls, cybersecurity and business-continuity arrangements.

Prudential resources

B/.350,000 minimum total capital plus the applicable solvency, liquidity and risk concentration requirements under the SMV prudential framework.

Published regulatory figures

Core SMV fees and financial requirements

Item	Published amount	How it enters the mandate
Item Minimum total capital	Published amount B/.350,000	How it enters the mandate Capital structure and ongoing prudential model
Item Casa de Valores licence application	Published amount B/.20,000	How it enters the mandate Official application budget
Item Annual SMV supervision	Published amount 0.0025% of annual trading volume, B/.15,000 minimum and B/.100,000 maximum	How it enters the mandate Recurring regulatory operating budget
Item Change-of-control application	Published amount B/.2,500	How it enters the mandate Official fee for an acquisition involving a control change
Item Individual licence application	Published amount B/.500 for the relevant licensed role, plus B/.100 examination fee	How it enters the mandate Staffing and replacement planning
Item Professional indemnity cover	Published amount Minimum B/.1,000,000 coverage proposed with a fresh application	How it enters the mandate Insurance placement and operating readiness

Fresh authorisation

Building a Casa de Valores application around the business model

A fresh mandate begins with a scope decision. SKY7 maps the investment products, execution model, client geography, custody chain, use of foreign intermediaries, technology and revenue model. That map determines the services stated in the business plan and keeps governance, capital and operating controls aligned with the licence sought.

The SMV process starts with the prior meeting under Acuerdo 9-2013. Once the regulator permits the formal filing to proceed, the application follows Acuerdo 2-2011. The file covers the Panamanian company and constitutional documents, the ownership structure, controller and director histories, source of wealth, the two-year business plan, financial resources, local functions, client-contract forms, correspondent arrangements, professional-indemnity cover, AML documentation, systems and internal controls.

SKY7 coordinates local counsel, corporate formation, controller evidence, governance recruitment, financial modelling, policies and application production as one workstream. Questions from the SMV are managed through an evidence register so that updates to the business plan, technology design and operating file remain consistent. The SMV retains the licensing decision and sets any conditions recorded in the final resolution.

Application path

From operating model to an SMV licence decision

1. Define the permission scope
Map the products, client relationships, execution, custody, forex and advisory functions to the Casa de Valores activities.
2. Build the Panamanian platform
Establish the applicant, ownership chain, offices, local notice recipients, board and licensed senior functions.
3. Prepare the prior meeting
Present the model, group structure, financial plan and operating architecture in the format expected for the SMV pre-filing stage.
4. Assemble the application
Complete the controller, business-plan, capital, client-document, insurance, AML, technology and control evidence under Acuerdo 2-2011.
5. Run the SMV review
Coordinate responses, document updates and regulatory correspondence while keeping the full application record aligned.
6. Activate the licensed operation
Complete any pre-opening conditions, confirm the permission record and move the reporting, supervision-fee and compliance calendar into operations.

Acquisition route

Acquiring an existing Casa de Valores company

An acquisition is a share purchase in the Panamanian company that holds the Licencia de Casa de Valores. The permission and regulatory record stay with that company while the ownership changes. Article 56 requires nominative shares, disclosure of effective owners who hold control and the SMV's prior consent before a share change affecting control.

The acquisition case depends on fit as much as status. SKY7 reconciles the licence resolution and current standing, then maps the target's recorded business plan, services, client and custody arrangements, capital position, licensed functions, financial reporting, AML framework and supervisory correspondence to the buyer's intended model. The result is a practical transition plan for the ownership, board, senior functions, capital, systems and counterparties.

Transaction documents are sequenced around the SMV consent. SKY7 coordinates the controller dossier, source-of-wealth evidence, governance plan, regulatory correspondence, corporate approvals and completion conditions. Banking, custody, correspondent and technology relationships run as parallel continuity workstreams, with each counterparty retaining its own decision. The SMV retains the ownership consent decision.

Live Panama opportunities

Current routes available through SKY7

Panama Casa de Valores company

An anonymised SMV-regulated forex brokerage opportunity offered through a share acquisition, with price available on request.

Panama online gaming company

A developed Panamanian online casino and sports-betting platform with a documented JCJ-aligned acquisition and launch workstream.

Panama crypto venture company

A prepared Panamanian corporate platform for a digital-asset venture structured within the applicable activity-based perimeter.

Route selection

When to apply fresh and when to acquire

A fresh application is well suited to a group that wants the governance, service scope, technology and control environment designed around a new operating model. It provides a clean build path and makes every application assumption explicit from the start. The work programme includes the Panamanian applicant, local team, capital, documents, systems and counterparty architecture.

An acquisition is strongest where an existing company's permission scope and operating foundation already match the buyer's plan. It can preserve a developed regulatory and corporate platform while the incoming controllers complete the SMV process. The value sits in the verified licence record, maintained capital, people, policies, systems and commercial readiness that can continue through the transition.

SKY7 compares the two routes using one implementation model: permission fit, ownership readiness, capital, people, technology, banking and custody, transaction cost and the steps between signing and operational handover. This gives the decision-maker a clear route before resources are committed to either an application or a data room.

Primary records

Official sources used for the route map

Panama securities-market law
The SMV's current consolidated securities law provides the licensing, activity, fee and change-of-control provisions.
Acuerdo 2-2011
The consolidated SMV agreement sets the application contents, operating conditions, required functions and business-plan framework for casas de valores.
SMV Casa de Valores FAQ
The official FAQ confirms the prior-meeting sequence, B/.350,000 minimum total capital, service scope and licensed staffing baseline.
SMV prudential agreements
The current Acuerdo 4-2011 framework supplies the capital adequacy, solvency, liquidity and concentration rules used in financial planning.

FAQ

Panama Casa de Valores FAQ

01 What activities can a Panama Casa de Valores conduct?

The core scope is buying and selling securities and financial instruments for clients or for the firm's own account. The approved business plan can also include forex, custody, investment advice, portfolio functions, placement work and other activities recognised by the securities law and Acuerdo 2-2011.

02 Which Panama permission covers client-facing forex brokerage?

Article 72 of the securities law places habitual currency trading for investment purposes on behalf of clients within the Casa de Valores route. SKY7 maps the product and execution model to the precise permission scope before filing or acquisition.

03 What capital does a Casa de Valores maintain?

The SMV's official guidance states minimum total capital of B/.350,000, composed through the recognised capital accounts. Prudential solvency, liquidity and concentration rules then apply to the firm's actual business and risks.

04 Can a foreign group own the licensed company?

The framework accommodates transparent foreign ownership structures. The SMV reviews the ownership chain, effective controllers, source of wealth, financial standing, governance and operating plan through the application or control-consent process.

05 How does the acquisition route work?

The buyer acquires shares in the licence-holding company. The SMV gives prior consent to a share change affecting control, and completion is sequenced around that decision. SKY7 coordinates the controller dossier, transaction conditions and operational handover.

06 How long does a fresh application or acquisition take?

The official materials reviewed do not state a general decision deadline for a new licence or Article 56 control consent. SKY7 builds the working timetable from file readiness, the SMV review sequence and the transaction's completion conditions.

Related guidance

Continue planning the Panama structure

Panama regulator dossier

Review the full Panama map across securities, banking, payments, insurance, gaming and digital assets.

Panama online gaming route

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How a SKY7 mandate runs

See how scoping, evidence, regulatory preparation, transaction coordination and handover fit together.

Reviewed by the SKY7 advisory team. Last reviewed: 18 July 2026. Regulatory statements are made as of July 2026 from the Panama securities-market law, SMV agreements and official guidance. The SMV determines each licensing and ownership consent application. Commercial and operating facts for an acquisition are confirmed from the specific transaction file.

Tell us what you need

Plan the Panama Casa de Valores route

Share the products, client markets, ownership chain and operating model. SKY7 will map the permission scope, compare a fresh SMV application with the available acquisition route, and set out the capital, people, evidence and completion workstreams.