Cuban national bank ready to grant loans to individuals

Cuba's national bank system is ready to start granting loans to individuals starting next Tuesday, Cuban Popular Saving Bank (BPA) President Jose Alari Martinez said here Sunday. The move is in line with the government's economic agenda to stimulate the development of the non-state economy, farming and housing construction, he said.He noted all human resources of the institution have been trained in the new credit system and will serve as financial advisors for the people. Cuba has been suffering a serious economic crisis since 1990 and must spend about 2 billion U.S. dollars annually on importing food to meet domestic needs. Therefore, Cuban President Raul Castro promoted about 300 reforms that were approved last April at the Sixth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party to increase national production and enhance self-sufficiency. The Cuban leader has specified that his reforms are aimed at improving the economic model, but "without renouncing socialism." The changes include opening up key economic sectors like mining, energy and tourism to foreign investment and dismissing half a million redundant workers from state-owned enterprises.Now, over 338,000 Cubans are working in 181 private-sector activities. In October 2010, Castro's government first opened that possibility to its people.