Florida bankers eyeing Cuba business

Interest in doing business in Cuba abounds these days. The latest to announce that they are keeping an eye on near-future possibilities are Florida banks with overseas operations.

San Antonio’s La Prensa reports that “David Schwartz, president and CEO of the Florida International Bankers Association, or FIBA, told Efe the ‘historical moment in the relationship between the United States and Cuba’ merits ‘a deep analysis’ of the measures outlined last week by the Treasury Department.”

Schwartz warned not to expect movement immediately because “banks must be cautious about the compliance aspects of the new rules.” But hinted at the fact that bank involvement would come sooner than later.

The La Prensa report stated: “Florida banks see in the easing of the five-decade-old U.S. embargo a ‘door to evolution and opening’ that will help Cubans access new telecommunication technologies and systems for the use of debit and credit cards ‘as long as you work with the Cuban government,’ Schwartz said.

“‘We are barely beginning to examine the revised sanctions, now we need to understand the process and understand what the regulatory environment will be in Cuba,’” FIBA’s president told the news agency Efe.