Panama, US sign agreement to share bank account information

The United States and Panama have signed an agreement to share bank account information, in a step aimed at fighting tax evasion following revelations from the Panama Papers leak.

The deal will allow the US to monitor accounts in Panama used by US citizens and close tax evasion opportunities.

The bilateral agreement comes weeks after the Panama Papers, a series of reports around the world revealing how one Panamanian law firm set up offshore entities to help the world's wealthy stash their assets.

Following the revelations, Panama has come under intense international pressure to open its financial sector to greater transparency or risk being put back on an global "tax haven" blacklist.

The signing formalized an arrangement on exchanging bank account details already observed between the two countries. The US and Panama also already have a separate agreement in force on sharing tax information.

Panama's finance minister hailed the move as evidence that his country was ready to cooperate in the fight against tax evasion.

"Panama continues to advance in the area of financial and fiscal transparency," Panamanian Finance Minister Dulcidio De La Guardia said in a statement after signing the accord with US ambassador John Feeley.

He emphasized that it showed Panama was cooperating in "the fight against tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing."