Cannabis Banking

During an interview with PBC Conference that was released on Wednesday, Federal financial regulator Rodney Hood, a board member of the federal National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) said marijuana legalization is not a question of “if” but “when,” reported Marijuana...

The burgeoning recreational marijuana industry – illegal at the federal level yet legal for adults in some 18 U.S. states and DC – has faced multiple challenges throughout the years, mostly because of the Schedule 1 status of the cannabis plant.   The...

The cannabis industry has been dealing with major difficulties for a long time, right? One of the biggest is definitely the banking issue. With marijuana being classified as a Schedule 1 drug, illegal on the federal level, banking institutions are being put in an uncomfortable...

Politicians, some of them, have finally decided to do something about the seemingly endless cannabis banking problem. Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and 20 other state governors signed a letter demanding that Congress pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement...

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act Monday by a vote of 321-101. This is the fourth time the House has passed a bill poised to protect banks servicing state-legal cannabis businesses from federal prosecution. The House approved the language...

The U.S. National Credit Union Administration issued a cease-and-desist order in February to Live Life Federal Credit Union because it didn’t fulfill the required reporting policies in relation to its cannabis-related accounts, according to Crain's Detroit Business.  Credit unions...

Senators Reintroduce SAFE Banking Act While last week, the SAFE Banking Act was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, while a parallel bipartisan measure was also represented, reports Marijuana Business Daily. Sens. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, and Steve Daines, a...

A vote in Congress to ease banking restrictions on cannabis companies is being praised for the possibility the legislation could make operating in the nascent industry much easier and more fair, and for the signal it sends that marijuana is moving toward establishment acceptability. The House...

Fintech company Promontory Interfinancial Network recently conducted a survey of bankers in the U.S. Results showed that 82 percent of respondents think the federal government should allow them to serve plant-touching cannabis businesses. Such legislation, dubbed SAFE Banking Act is in the works...

The House Financial Services Committee voted Thursday in favor of the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow cannabis businesses to work with banks and credit unions. The vote advances the bill to the House floor. The Cannabis Capital Conference is coming back to Toronto! Click here to learn how you...

The U.S. is the largest and fastest-growing cannabis market in the world. The plant is approved for medical use in 33 states and Washington, D.C., and 10 states including the district have fully legalized marijuana. Efforts to legalize weed to some degree are ongoing in a number of other states....

In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell said "clarity" is needed on cannabis banking regulations. "I think it would be great to have clarity," Powell said. A Difficult Place Cannabis was just one issue raised during two...

Members of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection heard testimony Wednesday from representatives of the financial sector, the cannabis industry, law enforcement and the treasurer of California in support of legislation that would make it easier...

The marijuana initiatives that voters will decide on in November include questions on the legalization of medical marijuana in Missouri and Utah and, in Michigan and North Dakota, the legalization of recreational marijuana.  Yet financial institutions continue to resist the still-...

Large commercial and investment banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) or Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) are keeping their hands off the cannabis industry for the time being. In fact, this is part of a larger trend seen — at least...