Cuba and a Spanish bank have formed the first joint-venture financial company in the Communist nation

HAVANA (CNN) -- Cuba's Communist government has joined forces with a Spanish banking institution to form the first joint-venture financial company in the Communist nation.

The establishment of the New Havana Financial Corporation on Saturday marked a major breakthrough for Cuba, which is considered a high-risk country by many international lending institutions.

Caja Madrid, a leading savings bank in Spain, has a 60 percent share in the new venture, and Cuba's Banco Popular de Ahorro holds the remaining 40 percent.

"There can be no doubt that what we are doing is betting on the future of Cuba," said Miguel Blessa, president of Caja Madrid.

"This is explicit recognition on the part of one of Spain's top financial institutions that the Cuban economy is growing and, above all, that it represents clear opportunities for Spanish firms," said Spanish corporate lawyer Ermenegildo Atto Zano.

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Spain is a major investor in Cuba, especially in the country's key economic areas of tourism and tobacco.

Blessa said Caja Madrid will use its experience to help Cuba modernize its financial institutions.

"We've no intention of limiting our participation to mere financial operations," he said. "We want to offer Cuba everything we have learned throughout the last 300 years."

The initiative comes as the United States steps up pressure on the European Union to sign an agreement that would make it difficult, if not impossible, to invest in Cuba.