ZURICH, March 28 (Reuters) - Clients of Swiss bank

PostFinance living in Cuba have in recent weeks received

notifications that their accounts will be closed, Swiss public

broadcaster SRF said on Friday, citing U.S. sanctions pressure

on the Caribbean island.

SRF, which published what it said was a copy of a letter

sent in March to one of the affected clients, did not explicitly

state why the closures were ordered or how many customers were

affected. But it said that PostFinance was systematically giving

notice to customers with ties to Cuba.

PostFinance said in response to a Reuters query that some of

the SRF report drew on speculation and that any possible

termination of business ties was carefully reviewed in advance.

"Due to bank-client confidentiality, we cannot comment on

the specific reasons that ultimately led to the termination of

individual business relationships," the state-owned bank said.

SRF said the reason behind the steps was renewed tightening

of U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba under U.S. President

Donald Trump, without providing direct evidence.

In the letter the broadcaster published, the bank explained

that the account concerned would be closed because the

customer's profile "does not match PostFinance's business policy

orientation."

On January 20, the day he returned to office, Trump revoked

the Biden administration's last-minute decision to remove Cuba

from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

PostFinance said international sanctions are subject to

constant change and that sanctions against Cuba are not new, but

have also evolved over time. Thus PostFinance has consistently

adapted its internal policy on the matter, it added.

The U.S. embassy in Switzerland did not immediately reply to

a request for comment by Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Oliver Hirt; Writing by Dave Graham;

Editing by Hugh Lawson)