Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS said they have severed relations with Cuba and are not conducting any business dealings with the country. UBS said it had not had any dealings with Cuba since 2005 while Credit Suisse said it adopted a similar policy at the start of the year but would consider handling non-dollar payments although this was difficult.
"UBS does not maintain any relations with Cuba-domiciled individuals and also UBS does not execute any payments to Cuba. The policy, which was instituted in 2005, concerns a number of sensitive countries, including North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Sudan," a spokesman for UBS said.
Rival bank Credit Suisse said it had also decided not to enter into new business with sensitive countries since the start of the year.
"We do not do payments in US dollars but payments in other currencies are possible if we can find a correspondent bank. But this is very difficult," a spokesman for Credit Suisse said, referring to Cuba.
In October, Cuba's communist government said that US trade sanctions over the last year had cost the country $4.1 billion in higher financial and shipping costs, lost business and cancelled contracts.
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