Cuba: US Blockade Affects Banking, Finance

Havana, Oct 22. -Cuba's banking and financial sector continue to suffer from the U.S. government's policy of hostility and isolation.

From April 2009 to March 2010, this was manifested as impediments to obtaining external funding, the introduction of obstacles to conducting any financial transaction, and the delaying and cancellation of negotiations.

Every year, the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade on the island reduces the possibility of using partner banks, with more complex transactions, and limitations on using U.S. dollars for payment.

This situation has forced the Cuban banking and finance system to explore new ways to continue operating with banks abroad, accoreding to Cuba's most recent report to the UN General Assembly on the need to end that policy.

The general damages for Cuban banks and financial institutions include additional outlays to make payments in currencies other than those contracted (U.S. dollars).

They also include impossibility of opening accounts in Swiss francs in certain first-class banks in Switzerland and the need to maintain minimum balances in Cuban accounts abroad at a risk of a seizure.

Cuba will present a resolution in the United Nations on October 26 on the need to immediately end the U.S. blockade, whose accumulated damages for the island are estimated at $751.363 billion. (Prensa Latina)