Miami, United States. – Russian Banco Novikombank, a subsidiary of the State Rostc Corporation, signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) and two of the island’s main commercial banks to implement financial operations in Rublos, according to the Russian media Volga News This April 18.
The agreement, signed during the 22nd session of the Russian-Cuban Intergovernmental Commission on economic-commercial and technical cooperation held in Havana, will allow Cuban financial institutions to make transactions in rubles through open accounts in Novikombank.
“The agreement will extend the number of Cuban financial organizations that can operate in rubles through accounts in Novikom,” said the bank.
The president of the Bank’s Board of Directors, Elena Georgieva, said: “Russia and Cuba have demonstrated great advances in economic cooperation. We are pleased to contribute to the development of relations between our countries and we trust that collaboration with the main banks of the Republic is fruitful for both states.”
Novikombank operates in Cuba since 2016 and, according to the official press of both regimes, facilitates transactions between Russian and Cuban companies in sectors such as tourism, energy, transport and heavy industry. According to bank data, in the last year, payments managed by Cuban entities grew by 42%.
In 2024, Novikombank It became the first Russian bank to open a representation office on the island. According to the official press of the island, the opening took place with the purpose of advising local partners and providing financial support to Russian industrial companies based in Cuba. The entity also allows commercial operations such as payment transfers, foreign exchange changes and financial document management between the two nations.
The signing of this new agreement reinforces the progress of the Russian banking on the island, a process that is registered in the joint plan to establish binational banking institutions. In May 2023, the special envoy of the Kremlin, Boris Titov, assured that “the Cuban part has confirmed its interest in registering branches of Russian banks” and proposed the creation of joint banks to finance small and medium -sized Cuban companies.
The deployment of these institutions is parallel to the implementation of The Russian Mir cardalready operational in Cuban ATMs.
However, the Russian banking advance in Cuba has been surrounded by controversy. Novikombank is among the entities sanctioned by the West due to their link with the Russian economy in the context of the invasion of Ukraine. The bank was sanctioned by the United States in February 2022, while in December 2023 the United Kingdom imposed additional restrictions, including the freezing of assets and the prohibition of bank correspondent relations.
Apparently, with the impulse of the ruble as exchange currency, the Cuban regime seeks alternatives to the dollarization of its economy and the restrictions of the international financial system. However, analysts warn that these types of agreements, although strategic, could accentuate the country’s economic isolation by deepening their dependence on partners equally sanctioned in the global stage.
