30 September 2024
The Minister President of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), Juana Delgado, has identified the principal challenges facing the Cuban banking system.
Speaking on the television programme Mesa Redonda she said the most significant were the departure of trained personnel, technical obsolescence, the continuing impact of the US embargo, Washington’s designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, and the Bank’s ongoing work on the restructuring of Cuba’s foreign exchange market.
Briefly addressing the yet to be resolved issue of the planned reform of the foreign exchange market announced by government last December, (See Cuba Briefing 2 January 2024), the Minister President said that the BCC continued to work with Government in helping develop its projections. “At this moment we are working hard on the implementation of a mechanism for the allocation and management of foreign currency and the implementation of a foreign exchange market in the country,” she told viewers.
On the impact of the US embargo, she said that it remains the main challenge confronting Cuba, placing daily pressure on the banking and financial system in relation to its ability to obtain payment. Other challenges she identified as being the need to be more active in preventing the Cuban banking system being used in illegal financial operations, addressing technological obsolescence, and the importance of strengthening the overall infrastructure of the banking system. Regarding the exodus of personnel through migration, Delgado said that the BCC was now engaged in training the human resources required to meet present and the future needs. No further detail was provided. Looking ahead, the Minister President said that the Central Bank is developing a financial stability strategy which is designed and approved to encourage the banking system to adapt to the new conditions of the country. It “will entail a review of the structure of the system and the activities it carries out, in order to promote a more efficient use of monetary and financial resources,” she told viewers
Highlights in this issue:
- Cuba and Vietnam agree to deepen economic relations
- National audit of the management of the tourism sector to begin
- Minister says food industry must capture foreign currency to fund production
- President calls for test to diagnose spreading oropouche virus
- North Korea responds to fraternal greetings, relations return to normal
- Legislation decentralising control of MSMEs comes into force
Appearing on the same programme, Ileana Estévez, an Advisor to the Minister President, noted that between 2% and 3% of the financing granted by the BCC is ultimately destined for individuals including self-employed workers and individual farmers, while some 97% of the monetary support granted went to the state productive sector especially in the areas of trade, repairs, food services, manufacturing and agriculture.
In her remarks she described several new and innovative initiatives that the BCC is developing. These included, she said, a project to establish a Development Bank to help promote the main economic activities in the country, and a green banking initiative to mitigate the effects of damage caused to the environment.
“There is a whole movement in the Cuban banking system linked to this activity. We are developing workshops to prepare staff and specialists. Although there are many strict rules for a bank to be certified as a green bank, we are taking important steps in this direction with the support of international entities,” she said.
Estévez also noted that to develop an affordable credit policy, a series of projects will be introduced once conditions in the county allow. One, she said, will see banks include in their portfolio an offering that will be specifically designed for young people who are starting their working life.
Cuba’s Central Bank acts as the governing body for the island’s banking and financial system. It currently oversees ten commercial banks, two of which are foreign, as well as fifteen non-banking financial institutions, plus ten representative offices of foreign banks and non-banking financial institutions. Its principal missions include ensuring the stability of the purchasing power of the Cuban Peso (CUP), proposing monetary, exchange rate, and credit policies, and once approved, directing, and executing such policies.
30 September 2024, Issue 1250
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