05/29/12
- Granma (Habana)
Cuban Banking System
Problems and Solutions
Fifteen years ago, on May 28th, the Council of State through
Decreto-Ley No. 172 [Act]
created the Banco Central de Cuba [Cuban
Central Bank].
Osvaldo Fuentes Torres, founder of the Bank and of its preceding entity
talks about the past and present tasks of this important institution.
O.
FONTICOBA GENER
The updating process
of the Cuban economic model has demanded a more central role from the
banking entities represented by the authority of the Banco Central de
Cuba (BCC) in the internal financial activity of the country.
Firstly they became instrumental in the implementation of the system of
credits for natural persons as well as the rendering of other banking
services in place since last December 20th.
However, the progress and positive impact of the implementation of the
resolutions has depended not only on the order and efficacy of their
undertaking, but also on the sense of duty and belonging that has
traditionally characterized the workers in the banking sector.
At a time when the Bank is consolidating, reorganizing and placing a new
generation of workers in the front line of the changes, it is fitting to
look back into its origins.
To this end, Granma interviewed Osvaldo Fuentes Torres who has
been linked to the Cuban banking family for more than 60 years and who,
in his capacity as Deputy President of the Banco Nacional de Cuba
(institution that preceded the BCC) for 22 years, and later as Deputy
President of the Banco de Crédito y Comercio [Credit
and Commerce Bank],
has in his curriculum the fact of having contributed to the
reorganization of the system.
A LIFETIME OF WORK
“It was 1976, a decisive year for the future of the Bank and the
national economy. With the Agreements of the First Congress of the
Party, the role of the banking system reached a higher level and thus it
needed to revitalize itself. That was one of the most difficult tasks we
had to face.”
Thus Fuentes Torres remembers his appointment as Deputy President to the
Central Office of the Banco Nacional de Cuba, the ruling banking
institution in the Island at the time. But these were not his first
steps in the banking sector.
“I started as a cleaning person in a Spanish bank in San Cristobal,
Pinar del Rio. One had to start in low paying jobs. I made eight pesos a
month.”
“Later I was a clerk, a cashier, an accountant. That’s how I started in
the banking business; I learned by doing things.”
Your life summarizes the history of banking in the Revolution. In your
opinion which have been the most critical and the most thriving moments
of the sector in our country?
I consider the 1961 change of currency was one of the most significant
moments in banking history after the Revolution. Although we in banking
were not the only ones, we certainly played a very important role. There
were people from other sectors as well, for example when exchange
centers were created in the mountain regions so that everybody could
have the service. There were no banking workers there, but the task was
done.
“The currency change was a huge blow to imperialism. The measure stopped
the extraction of national currency from the country. That money,
together with all the money they had taken, was being used to pay
counterrevolutionary bands. The old money became valueless ordinary
paper.”
“The action was short in execution, but it had had a long period of
organization. Besides, it was carried out in absolute secrecy: from the
design of the bills to their printing in former Czechoslovakia.”
“Another important moment was the nationalization of all banks and the
tremendous effort needed to integrate in a single body the entire
banking system. We had to design a single accounting system, a system of
statistics, and to recover information about currency circulation…”
“After the celebration of the 1st Congress of the Party in 1975, there
was a boom in the sector. The system of payments between enterprises was
reestablished, as well as the granting of credits and the assessment of
enterprise efficiency among other activities.”
“Other important moments for the banking system were the creation of
the Banco Central de Cuba in 1997, and the introduction of the
sector into the digital era in the same year.”
“And now, after the agreements of the 6th Congress of the Party, I think
Cuban banking workers are entering a stage of greater demands. For
example, the new policy of credits for natural persons is practically a
completely new task; it is not enough to study the instructions and
regulations, but we need to be ready to analyze all the cases that come,
each one is different from the other.”
What advice would you give the new generations of bank workers?
“They need to love their institution. The banking system plays a very
important role in the national economy. We must educate the new
generations in this sense.”
“They should also pay great attention to their professional development.
To this end self motivation is fundamental. They have the theoretical
tools, but real preparation comes from day to day work. This is the
learning they should seek.”
In
your view what is the most difficult and the most complex task in
banking.”
What is the most difficult? Everything; but everything can be solved.
The most complex…? Not to work in the Bank. I’ve devoted to it 60 years
of my life, and although I’m retired, I have never stopped working for
it… and I will continue to do so for as long as I can.”
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