U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to reverse current American sanctions policies for Cuba and Russia is forcing financial institutions to reconsider whether and how to process transactions to and from those countries, say sources.
To see how carefully the White House must craft its rollback of sanctions targeting the Castro regime, consider this week's amendments to the 56-year-old Cuba embargo.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday authorized American banks to broadly conduct indirect transactions with their Cuban counterparts as part of an effort to stimulate bilateral trade between the nations.
The Obama administration on Friday further eased U.S. economic and trade sanctions against Cuba, ending certain prohibitions on banking relationships and limits on wire transfers to the nation.
American depository institutions' hesitancy to establish links with banks in Cuba is likely to impede newly authorized trade with the country, according to U.S. officials.
The partial lifting of U.S. sanctions against Cuba is raising new questions for American banks that have issued credit cards to clients traveling to the island-nation, according to compliance experts.
Thursday's partial easing of U.S. sanctions against Cuba will do much to bring money to the island nation, but even a full rollback of economic restrictions won't soon resolve the biggest barriers to entry for American banks: low profit margins and high regulatory risk.
The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcer issued regulations Thursday permitting American banks to transact directly with their Cuban counterparts for the first time in decades.
President Obama announced plans Wednesday to significantly ease commercial and economic sanctions targeting Cuba, dismantling key elements of the 54-year U.S. embargo against the Caribbean nation.
A contradiction between U.S. sanctions rules and federal guidance on Cuban money remitters is prompting some compliance staff to scratch their heads, say analysts.
New U.S. Treasury Department regulations easing economic sanctions against Cuba and the compliance burden of financial institutions could make it easier for money remitters to break the rules, say analysts.
The U.S. Treasury Department officially loosened restrictions on money sent to Cuba Thursday, lifting caps on dollar amounts remitted and expanding the number of individuals who can receive the funds.