Marijuana industry

After Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo poured cold water on legislation enabling banks and credit unions to serve the marijuana industry, several key supporters of the effort are pushing back.

The Senate Banking Committee chairman said he opposed a House bill that would give financial institutions legal cover to serve cannabis businesses.

The industry is waiting to see if banks will get the same no-cost land leases on military bases that credit unions currently enjoy.

Building capital will help the mortgage agencies move toward the private sector; Virtual Wellness needs to assure banks it's safe to do business with them.

Protections for industrial hemp were added to a cannabis banking bill that is expected to get a full House vote next week.

The Banking Committee chairman's comments have advanced legislative efforts, but questions remain about where he'll take the issue.

As credit union leaders converge on Washington, here's a look at some of the biggest legislative and regulatory issues facing the industry – and what it might take to move the needle.

The NCUA said credit unions can now serve hemp businesses but uncertainty remains around important issues like due diligence.

Citing insurance concerns, Anchorage-based Credit Union 1 shut down its marijuana-banking pilot program after less than one year. The move reflects lingering hesitation around banking the industry.

The $35 million-asset credit union was one of just five entities bidding to serve the Mountain State’s medical cannabis program.

Nonbank lenders Monroe Capital and MGG Investment Group have made a combined $115 million of loans to firms that make cannabidoil and supply products to the cannabis and hemp industries.

Despite the Senate Banking Committee’s willingness to discuss the issue, Republican support for legislation is still in question.

Rachel Pross, chief risk officer at Maps Credit Union, told the Senate Banking Committee the inability for more banks and CUs to safely serve the legal pot industry is having an effect on ancillary businesses.

Lawmakers will hear from a credit union executive on cannabis banking while also considering issues such as the use of alternative data in underwriting.

Only one CU in West Virginia wants to enter the pot banking space, but they're going against the grain not just of the state's credit union league but an industry where fewer than 1% of institutions are serving that market.

The House passed a spending bill amendment aimed at providing further clarity to banks looking to provide services to cannabis businesses.

Credit union executives discussed serving the legal marijuana and hemp businesses during NAFCU's annual conference in New Orleans, including vastly different motivations for serving the industry.

It's a multibillion-dollar industry in a state of payments-regulation limbo and as a result, the U.S. cannabis business has mainly operated on a cash basis.

The legislation faces a tougher path in the Senate where GOP leaders are reluctant to ease restrictions on what is still a banned narcotic.

Two attorneys told a credit union audience the growing wave of marijuana legalization could have just as big an impact on financial institutions that don't serve the cannabis industry as those that do.