Five Steps to Grow the Cuban Economy : What the US and Cuba Can Do in Obama's Final Year

The Cuban government has a dominant role to play in determining the future landscape of the country's financial markets. This is a multifaceted issue. Finance operates in combination with a constellation of other factors, including sound laws, institutions that respect property rights, and confidence that rules will not be arbitrarily changed to suit government activities. In addition, Cuban finance can be brought into the modern era only if financial firms and banks have access to information technology and computing power. President Obama will travel to Cuba on March 21st. With many of the diplomatic and political issues already resolved, financial matters could prove to be the leading edge of new cooperation between the two governments. While maneuvering space is limited by the congressionally-imposed embargo, the US Treasury could move more quickly and decisively to promote the financial and economic development of Cuba. The US Treasury has a very specific role to play in removing obstacles to the creation of a viable financial system that will improve the lives of Cubans and build on the many regulatory openings since December 2014