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.