FACTBOX: Actions against Stanford companies in Latin America

(Reuters) - Five Latin American countries have taken action against companies belonging to Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, accused by U.S. authorities of fraudulently selling $8 billion in high-yield certificates of deposits.

Stanford's financial empire stretched across the globe but had particular success in a region where a history of unstable domestic banks added to the lure of high returns.

Here are some facts about actions against Stanford's operations in Latin America:

* The Venezuelan government said on Thursday it had taken over a local retail bank owned by Allen Stanford.

Stanford's investment arm had great success in Venezuela, where wealthy and middle-class clients trusted it with up to $2.5 billion, nearly a third of the total amount Stanford sold in high-yield CDs around the world.

To expand his business in the oil-exporting country, Stanford opened the small retail bank, Stanford Bank Venezuela.

* Peru's securities regulator said on Thursday it suspended the operations of the local office of Stanford Financial Group for 30 days. Regulator Conasev said it was working to make sure clients received their cash. It said Stanford's Peru office was allowed to operate only as a broker-dealer.

* Panama's banking authorities took over Stanford Bank (Panama) on Tuesday. The regulators said they stepped in after news of the charges against Allen Stanford and three of his companies prompted a run on deposits.

* Ecuador on Wednesday suspended an affiliate of Stanford Financial Group from operating in the Quito stock exchange for 30 days, or until it clears accusations against it.

Authorities are also investigating a $15 million investment fund run by Stanford and another local unit of the group in the OPEC nation and world's biggest banana-exporter.

* The Colombian arm of the Stanford Financial Group agreed to halt its activities on the Bogota stock exchange on Wednesday. The firm said it had sufficient solvency to provide guarantees to its local investors. Stanford's net assets in the Andean country are valued at about $10.9 million.

(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel)