Topaz Services, S.A.
Delivering British Excellence, in Panama, from specialists since 1981.
Who we are?
Our Managing Director, a qualified trust practitioner, a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and a fellow of the Institute of Bankers in South Africa, has over 50 years combined private and public sector experience in the financial services industry about which he has written extensively and attended many conferences as keynote and guest speaker.
His international expertise, gained in Europe, the United States of America, the Caribbean, Africa and Latin America is in the corporate, trust, insurance and banking fields and he was both affiliated with the former Latin America and Caribbean Banking Commission and an offshore banking, trust company and insurance regulator for the British Government. He is also a former Treasurer of the British Chamber of Commerce in Panama.
In 1996, Derek joined his long-standing friend and colleague, the company´s founder Robin Baily, at the firm before going on to become joint owner a year later. It was the opportunity to work with someone with shared values and the future potential he saw in the country that motivated Derek to move to Panama.
On the occasion of his 50th anniversary as a member of the Institute of Bankers in South Africa, the Institute’s Chief Executive Officer presented him with the following accolade:
Derek joined the Institute in 1971 and has been a loyal member. For 50 years he has been dedicated to the Institute, always looking for ways to add value and to contribute toward making a difference. Derek obtained the Trustee Diploma in 1973 (certificate no.263), having passed the examinations in the following subjects: Executor and Trustee law and Procedure, Executors’ Accounts, Trustee Administration Statements and Death Duties. He became a Fellow of the Institute on 9th October,1996.
Derek Sambrook, is a qualified trust practitioner, a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and a fellow of the Institute of Bankers in South Africa, has over 50 years combined private and public sector experience in the financial services industry about which he has written extensively. In that capacity he has attended many conferences as keynote and guest speaker, as well as being a guest lecturer at seminars held at the University of Oxford.
His international expertise, gained in Africa, Europe, the United States of America, the Caribbean and Latin America is in the corporate, trust, insurance and banking fields and he was both affiliated with the former Latin America and Caribbean Banking Commission and served in the West Indies as an offshore banking, trust company and insurance regulator for the British Government. He is also a former Treasurer of the British Chamber of Commerce in Panama.
Thank you Derek, for your dedication and commitment to service. We honour you and appreciate the loyalty to the Institute of Bankers for the past 50 years.
Topaz Services believes that the backbone of any organisation is its staff and many of our senior personnel can count their years of service in decades. Our experienced, highly skilled and bilingual staff remain key to our success and coupled with the compact nature of our family-owned firm we can offer you the following advantages;
- Efficient co-ordination and dissemination of information.
- Quick decision making. There is no head office, committee or regional office that needs to be referred to.
- Continuity. Ours is an independently-owned family business and, unlike large organisations, there are no worries over mergers, closures or buy-outs. The person managing your account does not get transferred and the same person handling your affairs is highly likely to be handling them for many years in the future. Our next generation of managers is already in place for the next era.
- Confidentiality. As a family business we understand family concerns and the importance which is attached to privacy, particularly where wills, foundations and trusts might be involved. We consider this to be of inestimable value.
Panama ́s specialists in forming corporations and succession planning since 1981.
Why Choose Our Firm
Decades of experience and specialist knowledge
Our broad range of expertise, gained from decades of practice can assist you with building and preservation of wealth, and protection of family finances.
We speak your language
We are in, but not of, Panama. A British- managed company that can fluently and competently assist you in your business endeavours, whether it be in English or Spanish.
Unparalleled attention to service
We pride ourselves in our quality of service and attention to detail in our client’s business affairs. Our client reviews, as well as our reputation, speak for themselves.
Experience, Quality, Excellence. Since 1981
Our Story
Our Company was established in Panama in 1981, originally by Inchcape, Plc, a British multinational public corporation before becoming Trust Services, S.A. The founder of our company was Robin Bailey, who was from the UK but now has since sadly deceased.
In 1981, during a business trip to the Cayman Islands, Robin met Derek Sambrook and they immediately became friends as well as establishing a firm business relationship over 15 years. Upon making his first trip to Panama, Derek saw jurisdiction ́s potential, which led to him moving to Panama in 1996 and then became a joint owner of our company with Robin in 1997.
Robin and Derek shared similar values and they had a partnership that was based on trust, and not just trusts.
Derek often reminded Robin that the most valuable asset of the company never appeared in the accounts: a shared sense of professionalism, reliance, respect and trust in one another.
Those values, forged since 1981, have always been upheld by Derek to this present day.
Over the years our company has evolved to become the independent family-owned business that we know today.
As a small, bespoke, British service provider we have been administering family estates through successive generations, offering them the benefit or our considerable international public and private sector experience especially in fiduciary and corporate administration.
We believe in being a good corporate citizen and have donated to local charities over the years.
In fact, we manage significant charitable foundations on behalf of clients from which not only Panamanian, but regional, charities benefit. Orphanages, children´s hospitals and homes for the disabled and disadvantaged are just some of the charities that benefit from the donations made on behalf of ourselves and our clients.
Before the global pandemic, our company made the decision to diversify its financial services, and although we remain committed to providing family foundations, we have decided to cease offering trusts so that we can concentrate more on accounting services for which there is a growing demand. Additionally, we have expanded our consultancy services to meet the needs of those seeking local, as well offshore, solutions.
Aware that spreading ourselves too thin could affect the quality of service and having decided to provide an accountancy service, we requested, and obtained, permission from the local banking authorities to cancel our trust license. As a result of the cancellation, however, and in order to comply with the law, we were obliged to remove the descriptive word “trust” from our name.
And so, in July 2022, after 41 years, Trust Services, S.A. became Topaz Services, S.A. The logo, however, remains the same and still is one of the prominent hallmarks of quality in Panama.
We are subject to Panamanian Law 124 of 2020 which provides for rigorous regulatory and supervisory controls similar to those imposed by the banking authorities.
Now in our fifth decade of doing business we take great pride in having provided professional firms, institutions, charities and individuals with good quality service, sound business advice, legitimate asset protection and, where appropriate, personal estate planning. Not to mention offering local tax, secretarial, banking, accounting and administrative advice.
Importantly, the firm´s management, staff and ownership remain the same, ensuring a continuation of the high standards of experience, professionalism, service and reliability that our clients and associates have come to know and rely on.
As for new clients, they will discover that our long history and experience has made us a leading professional services provider in Panama.
Delivering British excellence since 1981.