Banking in Cuba

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This article is about the banking in Cuba, including an overview of the recent past. For details on the economy as a whole, see Economy of Cuba.

Contents

[edit] History

Following the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban banking sector came under the control of the new regime. Famously, Che Guevara was appointed President of the National Bank of Cuba (Spanish: Banco Nacional de Cuba) in 1959. Guevara often retold the apocryphal story of how he gained the job at the bank; Fidel Castro had asked if there were an economista in the room and he had put his hand up - much to Fidel's surprise. Guevara has mistakenly thought the request was for a "comunista".[1] Guevara's position was also somewhat ironic, as he often condemned money, favored its abolition, and showed his disdain by signing Cuban banknotes with his nickname, "Che".

In the 1990s, the Cuban banking system was restructured, with new commercial banks created, and a new central bank, "Banco Central de Cuba" created. The architect of this restructuring was Francisco Soberon, who became the first president of the new central bank.


[edit] Central Bank of Cuba

The Central Bank of Cuba (Spanish: Banco Central de Cuba - "BCC") is the central bank of Cuba. It was created in 1997, to take over many of the functions of the National Bank of Cuba. Since its creation, the President has been Francisco Soberón Valdés. The President of the Central Bank is a member of the Council of Ministers of Cuba.

As with most Cuban government ministries, the Central Bank acts as both regulator and shareholder of much of the Cuban banking system.

[edit] Current system

There are eight commercial banks, which can be categorised as follows:

[edit] Retail banks

  • Banco de Crédito y Comercio (BANDEC)
  • Banco Popular de Ahorro (BPA)
  • Banco Financiero Internacional (BFI)
  • Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A. (BICSA)
  • Banco Metropolitano S.A.

[edit] Investment bank

  • Banco de Inversiones S.A.

[edit] Other

  • Banco Nacional de Cuba (BNC)
  • Banco Exterior de Cuba (BEC)

In addition, Havana International Bank is registered in London.

[edit] Non-banking financial institutions

There are also a number of other financial institutions which are regulated by the Central Bank. Some of the more important are:

  • Grupo Nueva Banca, S.A. (New Bank Group) - the principal shareholder of the following entities: Banco Internacional de Comercio, S.A., Financiera Nacional, S.A., Compañía Fiduciaria, S.A., InCreFin, S.A. It also holds 50.0% in the joint venture Financiera Iberoamericana, S.A. and 40% percent in Caribbean Finance Investments Ltd. (CariFin).[2]
  • Casas de Cambio, S.A. (CADECA), formed in 1994, this company operates money exchange kiosks

[edit] See also

Cuba Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Anderson, Jon Lee. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, New York: 1997, Grove Press, p. 453
  2. ^ http://www.bc.gov.cu/English/financial_institutions.asp#GNB Central Bank website - retrieve 13 December 2006

[edit] External links

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