New Cuban Central Bank President

HAVANA TIMES, June 5 — Ernesto Medina Villaveiran is the new president of the Central Bank of Cuba, announced the government on Thursday, replacing Ernesto Soberon, who held the key cabinet-level post for the last 15 years.

Before taking on the new responsibility, Villaveiran had been the president of the island’s Banco Financiero Internacional.

Soberon’s resignation for personal reasons is effective immediately and comes at a time when Cuba, like other countries, implements belt tightening measures to deal with the serious global financial crisis.

The island has seen its top exports like nickel, sea products and tobacco drop in value, while maintaining its hotel occupancy is another challenge. Thus the country is hard pressed to cut imports on oil, food products and others to balance the country’s books.