New Routes to Growth
Towerbank is positioning itself at the intersection of Panama’s established financial system and the emerging digital-asset economy, combining a long-standing corporate banking legacy with a hybrid model designed for regional clients.
With more than 50 years in Panama and Latin America, the bank’s origins are rooted in trade finance and corporate banking. Its focus on external commerce, structured lending, and cross-border relationships aligns naturally with Panama’s role as a regional logistics and financial hub. The country’s dollarized economy and geographic position continue to support steady flows of trade and investment.
Rather than focusing solely on domestic retail banking, Towerbank has built a regional franchise serving corporate clients involved in exports, agribusiness, and multi-country operations. In a competitive banking market, this specialization defines its position.
A key differentiator has been timing. Long before digital assets entered mainstream financial discussion, the bank began evaluating how traditional institutions could respond to fintech disruption. The result was not caution, but expansion. “We saw an opportunity to serve a large group of people that traditional banking was not addressing,” said Benjamín Méndez, Executive President of Towerbank.
That strategy accelerated after the pandemic, as digital behavior shifted and client expectations evolved. Rather than separating traditional and digital banking, Towerbank integrated both into a unified model through ikigii, an account ecosystem operating in dollars and crypto, which includes services such as Bitcoin-backed lending.
The focus is practical rather than speculative: enabling clients to move between crypto and fiat, manage liquidity more efficiently, and access financing without liquidating digital assets. “People want liquidity without giving up their Bitcoin position,” Méndez said.
The approach is anchored in regulation and trust. Towerbank positions itself as a supervised institution bringing compliance and risk controls into digital assets, reframing innovation as institutional adoption rather than disruption.
This evolution also reflects Panama’s broader financial position. Despite outdated perceptions, the country remains a dollarized, well-connected banking hub supported by logistics and services growth. “Panama has everything it needs to place itself at the forefront of the region,” Méndez said.
