Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega acted as lead counsel to First Citizens Bank Limited, a bank from Trinidad and Tobago in connection with a US$25 million secured loan to Ecuador Kakao Processing Proecuakao, a corporation organized under the laws of the Republic of Ecuador.

This marks the second loan provided by First Citizens to Ecuakao using loan documentation governed by Panamanian law.

Despite the absence of direct ties between the parties and Panama, First Citizens has identified significant advantages in utilizing Panamanian law as the governing framework (instead of usual jurisdictions such as NY law or English law) for its loan agreements, given its alignment with international regulations and commercial practices.