South Florida bank strikes deal with Cuba, moves closer to reopening embassy

WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- A small Florida bank opened a banking relationship with the Cuban government, a move seen as yet another step to Cuba reestablishing an embassy in the United States.

Stonegate Bank, which has 21 branches in South Florida, agreed to handle Cuba's banking needs at the request of the U.S. State Department. The move comes more than a year after its previous banker, M&T Bank of Buffalo, stopped handling Cuba's accounts, forcing cash-only transactions.

The move is another step forward in renewing U.S.-Cuba ties and comes as officials from both countries testify before Congress to restore diplomatic relations. In April, President Obama said he planned to remove Cuba from America's list of terrorists.

"This is good news, and a long time coming, finally allowing us to move past what has been a stumbling block in the normalization conversations," says Alana Tummino, policy director at the Americas Society.

Stonegate has $2.26 billion in assets and opened in 2005.