Colombia

Jaime Trujillo Caicedo, Alexandra Montealegre and María Camila Vargas, Baker McKenzie

Brigard Urrutia lawyers explain what pension fund administrators need to know about the new framework

Through the enactment of Agreement no. 4-2012, the Superintendence of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama (SSRP) regulates the provision of reinsurance and brokerage services by foreign entities to local insurance and reinsurance companies authorised to operate in Panama.

The Regulatory Unit (Unidad de Regulación Financiera or URF) of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit has issued several decrees with the purpose of harmonising Colombian capital requirement regulations applicable to banking institutions with the capital requirement regulations included in Basel III.

In October 2018 a commission of experts was formed to review the landscape of the Colombian capital markets and propose measures to boost the market as an instrument for economic growth and general welfare. The commission gathered information from the market through workshops and one-to-one meetings with market participants. After a nine-month process, the commission presented its recommendations on August 9 2019, in an 80-page document that includes more than 60 initiatives that aim to improve market regulation and conditions.

On June 27 2019, the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) issued the third version of the private equity principles (principles). The principles continue to reiterate that the essence of an effective private equity partnership is built on the alignment of interests, governance and transparency; however, this third version also addresses new issues.

Article 20 of Law 1882 of 2018 was very important for reactivating the financing of the 4G concession road projects, because it clearly stated the guidelines for calculating the termination payment in concession agreements in the case of early termination events caused by a declaration of invalidity. On August 30 2018, the Controller General filed a claim of partial unconstitutionality of the article before the Colombian Constitutional Court, arguing that this article contravened the prohibition of illicit enrichment, among other arguments.

Recently, the financial services industry in Colombia has undergone substantial changes driven by technology, which have greatly reduced operational costs, provided higher quality, increased efficiency and expanded access and inclusion for credit and financial services.

Law 1870 of 2017, the Colombian Financial Conglomerates Law entered into force on February 6 2019. The Colombian Superintendence of Finance (SFC) has begun the process of supervising 13 financial conglomerates in the country, five of which are local and eight foreign. The SFC will supervise: Sura – Bancolombia Group, Aval Group, Bolívar financial conglomerate, BBVA Colombia, Fundación Social, Coomeva, Scotiabank Colombia, Itaú Colombia, BNP Paribas Colombia, BTG Pactual Colombia, Credicorp Capital Colombia, GNB Sudameris Colombia and Old Mutual Colombia.