Bankia, one of the most important banks in Spain, announced the end of its activities in Cuba, after ending the liquidation of Havana Finance Corporation (CFH) that it had on the island, EFE reported.
This company, created by Bankia in 1998, when the bank was called Caja Madrid, was designed to support entrepreneurs who have invested in Cuba.
Caja Madrid signed an agreement in October that year with the state-owned Banco Popular de Ahorro (BPA) and set up a company with a capital of only $ 5 million, about 4.2 million euros at the current exchange rate, to advise Spanish companies. It was the first mixed-capital financial institution established in Cuba.
Its objective was to support companies operating or wishing to establish their activity in Cuban territory, from advising on commercial or investment operations to financing, including lending and credit operations, discounts and forfaiting commercial documents and foreign trade operations, as indicated on the entity’s own website.
After the incorporation of Bankia, Caja Madrid contributed 60% of the participation in CFH to the group, with a symbolic activity, and other investments in various companies, such as City National Bank of Florida and Spanish Iberia, MAPFRE or Iberdrola.
Bankia has so far failed to sell the Cuban company, whose license expired 20 years after its grant, ie in October 2018.
When that date arrived, Bankia decided it was time to start liquidating the company, a process that has now culminated, as detailed in the 2020 closing accounts.
The announcement is not good news for foreign investors in Cuba, especially Spaniards, who have repeatedly complained about the Cuban government’s delay in making its profit payments and meeting its debts to various companies.