Cuba to US - help banks shed fear of dealing with us

Cuba to US: help banks shed fear of dealing with us
AFP
May 12, 2016

Havana (AFP) - Washington must give assurances that banks dealing with
Cuba will not be punished under the US trade embargo, which remains in
force despite the restoration of diplomatic ties, an official said Thursday.

Cuba will make this argument Monday in Havana at a meeting of officials
from the two countries to review how the process is going, said Gustavo
Machin, deputy director of US affairs in the Foreign Ministry.

"It has still not been possible to normalize banking relations between
the two countries, and among American banks and multinational banks
there is a still much fear of dealing with Cuba," he said.

The United States and Cuba buried the hatchet in July 2015 and restored
diplomatic ties severed half a century ago.

President Barack Obama paid an historic visit to Cuba in March of this year.

Prior to that trip, Obama gave the go ahead for Cuba to use the dollar
in its dealings with US banks and carry out banking transactions in the
US. This was yet another easing of the embargo, although it remains in
place.

"That measure needs to be accompanied by a strong statement, a political
statement, or even a legal tool, which ensures banks that they are not
going to be punished for dealing with Cuba," said Machin.

He said this and other issues related to the embargo will be on the
agenda at Monday's meeting, the third of its kind since ties were restored.

Source: Cuba to US: help banks shed fear of dealing with us -
https://www.yahoo.com/news/cuba-us-help-banks-shed-fear-dealing-us-212813913.html?ref=gs