Cuba announced that its banking system will begin to gradually implement 20 modifications in the coming weeks, including changes that involve greater participation of private and foreign capital, new loans, a review of interest rates, the digitalization of processes, and new rules for financial technologies.
The transformations will be focused on four areas —opening and capitalization, credit, savings, and financing— according to reported Juventud Rebelde based on statements from officials of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC).
The president minister of the BCC, Juana Lilia Delgado Portal, acknowledged during an appearance on the Mesa Redonda that among the issues currently facing the system are the slowness of processes and institutional bureaucracy.
According to his explanation, one of the priorities will be to streamline procedures and restore the banks' capacity to serve both individuals and state-owned enterprises, as well as non-state economic actors.
One of the most significant changes will be the inclusion of financial institutions with private and foreign capital, an opening that breaks with decades of virtually exclusive state banking.
Alberto Javier Quiñones Betancourt, Vice President of the Central Bank, explained that specialized institutions may emerge in specific sectors of the economy. Among the mentioned projects is a Development and Agricultural Promotion Bank, aimed at financing agriculture.
Authorities also anticipate the operation of private exchange houses and banks with integrated digital operations for remittance transfers, although these entities will remain under the supervision of the Central Bank.
The opening of this type of business has already begun to take shape. In September, ADT64 started operating in Santa Clara, presented as the first authorized private currency exchange in Cuba, as part of a pilot project supervised by the BCC.
The entry of private capital into finance had been announced since June, when the authorities approved a broad package of economic transformations.
Among them was included the possibility of creating private banking and financial institutions, whether national or foreign, under the regulation of the Central Bank.
Another of the priorities announced will be to facilitate access to credit. Quiñones indicated that work is underway on consumer loans and a review of the interest rates applied to savings accounts in Cuban pesos.
The intention, according to the executive, is to transition to a system of interest rates that is "more financial and less administrative," granting commercial banks greater autonomy to design offers and determine specific rates.
It is also expected to advance in the digitization of banking services to reduce the need for in-person procedures. This process includes incorporating financial technology companies, or fintech, and developing new advisory tools for clients.
The Central Bank is also working on legislation related to cryptocurrencies, virtual assets, and artificial intelligence projects, as part of the modernization announced for the sector.
Another objective will be to attract operations that are currently conducted outside of banks into the banking system and to create mechanisms to channel those flows, at a time when the country is facing difficulties with liquidity and access to cash.
The changes come just days after the Central Bank circulated new 10,000 and 20,000 Cuban peso bills, the highest denominations issued to date, in a context marked by the loss of purchasing power of the currency and difficulties in withdrawing large amounts of cash.
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