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Stock Symbol: NYSE: BLX
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The Bank, headquartered in Panama City, Panama, is a specialized supranational bank originally established by central banks of Latin American and Caribbean countries to promote trade finance in the Region. The Bank was established pursuant to a May 1975 proposal of the XX Assembly of Governors of central banks in the Region, which recommended the creation of a supranational organization to increase the Region’s foreign trade financing capacity. The Bank was constituted in 1978 as a corporation pursuant to the laws of the Republic of Panama as “Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A.” and commenced operations in January 1979. The Bank operates under the commercial name of “Bladex”. Panama was selected as the location of the Bank’s headquarters because of the country’s importance as a banking center, the benefits of a fully U.S. dollar-based economy, the absence of foreign exchange controls, its geographic location, and the quality of its communications facilities.