Banco Financiero Internacional
Cuba's principal foreign-currency clearing bank, designated by OFAC on 23 June 2026.
Last refreshed: 1 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Cuba's banking reform work with its clearing bank sanctioned?
Timeline for Banco Financiero Internacional
Cuba's private-bank law, no licence yet
Cuba DispatchOFAC hits Cuba's main clearing bank
Cuba DispatchWhat is Banco Financiero Internacional?
Why did the US sanction Cuba's main bank?
How does the BFI sanction affect Cuba's banking reform?
Background
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Banco Financiero Internacional (BFI) as a Specially Designated National on 23 June 2026 under Executive Order 14404 . BFI clears the bulk of Cuba's foreign-currency transactions, so the listing removes the one correspondent-banking route most dollar payments to and from the island rely on.
Founded in 1984 and operating under the SWIFT code BFICCUHH, BFI sits at the centre of Cuba's hard-currency system. It is tagged by OFAC as both a financial institution and a state-owned enterprise. A Specially Designated National listing bars US persons from dealing with it and exposes any third-country bank that clears its transactions to secondary-sanctions risk.
The timing is the significance. Five days earlier Cuba's National Assembly had legalised private banks and personal dollar accounts, yet no private bank licensed under that reform has a foreign-currency clearing path once BFI is designated . The designation reframes the reform as enabling legislation without the plumbing to function.
