The World - News from May 9, 1988

Under government pressure, Panama’s banks today will allow customers to make limited withdrawals from their accounts for the first time in more than nine weeks. Depositors will be permitted to withdraw up to 25% from their checking accounts and no more than $50 from their savings accounts. A government order shut the institutions March 3 after a run on savings by panicky depositors and the U.S. imposition of economic sanctions in an effort to force out strongman Manuel A. Noriega. The sanctions helped to cause a severe cash shortage in Panama. Panamanians, unable to cash their paychecks, have conducted business on a barter or cash-only basis since the closing of the banks.