HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 22 (ACN) Havana´s Banco Metropolitano (Banmet) granted 1,174 loans to private businesses in 2016, a 29 percent increase compared to the previous year.
In a meeting with the press, officials with the banking entity said this is the largest number of loans since the policy to grant credits to private businesses was implemented in 2011. The loans amounted to almost 43 million Cuban pesos.
Despite the increase, the bank is not satisfied, said its Vice-President Isabel Sanz, considering there are over 130 thousand self-employed people in the Cuban capital.
She said the increase was due to the opening of two Credit Offices in the city that provide advice and customized attention to private entrepreneurs. This positive result encourages Banmet to open to other similar facilities to bring the bank closer to the working areas of those seeking for financial advice and help.
They also created an email account, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , through which people can apply for loans, request advice and other banking services.
Sanz said that the small demand of government loans shows private businesses are accessing are other sources of financing, like own savings, loans from friends and relatives and foreign remittances.
By the end of 2016 only 9 percent of self-employed people in Havana had bank accounts for their businesses, she said.
The 291 non agricultural cooperatives in Havana had received loans for 225 million pesos in 3 years
Nos reservamos el derecho de no publicar los comentario que incumplan con las normas de este sitio