The Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel announced a comprehensive reform of the island's banking and financial system, which includes the opening up to private and foreign financial institutions, as well as the authorization of foreign accounts for companies engaged in international trade, according to the closing speech of the Extraordinary Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.
"We are going to create space, under strict regulations, for private and foreign financial institutions, new credit mechanisms, productive financing, the development of financial markets, and payment services where state, cooperative, and private actors can participate," declared Díaz-Canel before the Central Committee meeting at the Palace of the Revolution.
The leader also announced that "accounts abroad, payments in foreign currency between companies, and auditable international operations will be allowed for actors who import, export, or provide global services," a measure unprecedented in the Cuban financial system, which has been almost entirely controlled by the State since 1959.
The stated aim of the reform is to eliminate the obstacles that turn any basic banking transaction into an odyssey. "The goal is for receiving a pension, getting a remittance from abroad, paying a utility bill, applying for a loan, financing a harvest, purchasing equipment, or transferring money for production not to be an obstacle course," the leader said.
Díaz-Canel described the transformation the sector needs: "Cuba needs more agile banks, more digital, closer to the people, and more useful for those who produce, export, import, invest, or undertake projects."
The regime tried to frame the opening as a strengthening measure, not a concession. "It is not about weakening the role of the State, but about expanding and modernizing the country's capabilities to finance production, support those who generate goods and services, manage money flows, and provide better service to our people," the president stated.
The announcement comes at a time of operational collapse for the Cuban financial system. Visa and Mastercard suspended their operations in Cuba on June 3rd, just two weeks before the Plenary, as a result of U.S. Executive Order No. 14404, which expanded sanctions and introduced secondary penalties for foreign financial institutions linked to entities such as GAESA and FINCIMEX.
By May 2026, more than 50% of the ATMs in Havana had stopped working, and Cubans were facing lines of four to six hours at bank branches, mostly retirees trying to collect pensions. CEPAL projects a decline in Cuba's GDP of 6.5% in 2026, with a cumulative contraction of 10.3% over the two-year period of 2025-2026.
The banking reforms are part of a package of more than 20 economic and social transformations approved in the Extraordinary Plenary, called urgently in light of the depth of the crisis. The National Assembly was convened for an extraordinary session this Thursday to ratify the measures approved by the Communist Party.
Raúl Castro, who supported the reforms by participating via videoconference and signing the proposal document, warned in a message read during the Plenary that "as important as the approval of these transformations is their proper and timely implementation."
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