CARLOS ARBOLEYA, 91
CARLOS ARBOLEYA, 91
He was a banker and pillar of the Cuban exile community in Miami,
Prominent Cuban-American banker and civic leader Carlos Arboleya died on Sunday at his home in Miami, a city that he helped develop as a bank executive, offering loans and financial guidance to Cuban exiles fleeing the island and starting anew in the United
States. He was 91.
Born in Havana in 1929, Arboleya received many awards and accolades throughout his illustrious career. Among his achievements was becoming the first naturalized Cuban American to be named as president of a national bank in the United States. His initial ties were with Barnett Bank, which became part of Bank of America.
He also founded his own bank, Flagler Bank, which also became part of Bank of America.
Arboleya joined Barnett Bank in 1974. He rose to vice chairman for the southern region in 1981 while simultaneously holding the presidency of Barnett Leasing Company and the presidency of Barnett Visa and MasterCard operations for the southern region, a position that he held until his retirement in 1994.
“As a banker, he dedicated himself to empower Cuban entrepreneurs in exile, to give them access to the capital needed to set up companies and businesses,” said Eladio José Armesto, a friend of the family.
Arboleya was hospitalized a few weeks ago following a bout with the flu. He got well enough to return home, but his health faltered again. He died at 8 a.m. Sunday at his home, Armesto said.
“As a banker, he focused on helping his community understand banking operations and its important role in development,” Armesto said, noting that when other banks denied loans to small entrepreneurs and exiles who wanted to buy “their little house,” Arboleya opened opportunities for them.
Upon his death, Arboleya was honorary president of the Association of Old Scouts of Cuba. He had also served as president of the South Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America, to which he devoted most of his free time, Armesto said.
“He was in love with the idea that youth is one of the most important resources we have. He said that good leaders distinguished themselves by preparing those who would eventually replace them, and that it was necessary to invest in youth,” said Armesto, who was a Boy Scout with Arboleya’s son, Carlos Joaquin Arboleya, who died in 2015.
The elder Arboleya graduated from the University of Havana with business administration and accounting degrees. He began his banking career with Havana CitiCorp and later joined Banco Continental Cubano, Cuba’s largest bank. He worked there as chief auditor until Fidel Castro seized control of the island in 1959 and confiscated all banks.
Like tens of thousands of others who fled Castro’s regime, Arboleya also made his way to Miami with his wife, Marta Aurora, and their son. Arboleya arrived in the United States with $40 but would carve out a successful life for himself and many others who turned to him for financial help. His wife died on Sept. 11, 2017.
In the early days of his exile, unable to find a job in banking, Arboleya took a job as a shoe factory inventory clerk, where he climbed to the post of vice president. Within seven years of returning to the banking industry, he grew to become a highly respected and influential community leader.
“Arboleya has enormous merit. He was a super professional banker, highly regarded in Florida and also an extraordinary human being,” said businessman Diego Suárez, who received lines of credit from Barnett Bank for his company, Inter-American Transport Equipment Company.
Suárez, who also served as director on the board of Republic National Bank, remembers those early days of exile in which “character loans” were offered to entrepreneurs without collateral, only based on the person’s reputation.
”He was an individual concerned with the welfare of society and he always responded to everything related to Cuba,” said Suárez, who co-founded the Cuban American National Foundation with the now deceased leader Jorge Mas Canosa. The exile organization was highly supported by Arboleya.
The banker also served as president of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. In 1976, he received the Horatio Alger Award. He also was nominated to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“He was a person who cared about helping everyone, involved in many activities,” said Jorge Iglesias, who was a colleague and disciple of Arboleya on the South Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
His work with the Boy Scouts also received high praise. He was the founder of the Lincoln Martí camp, whose members meet every January to commemorate the birthday of Cuban patriot José Martí and the memory of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
The event is held at Robert King High Park on Flagler Street and 70th Avenue, where a section is named Arboleya Camping and Picnic Grounds, in recognition of Arboleya’s 40-year leadership role with the organization.
Armesto, the family friend, said that during the past five years Arboleya was extremely affected by the loss of his son and then his wife. His own death in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic will mean memorial services will be delayed.
“Due to the current medical crisis and the prohibition of gatherings of more than 10 people, it will not be possible to organize a wake,” said Armesto, adding that friends and family will have a memorial Mass in his honor when circumstances allow for it.