Pot Banking

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., whose chances of getting confirmed as attorney general are unclear in the wake of allegations of sex trafficking and a House ethics probe against him, cuts a more populist profile than many expected from a Republican president.

The Drug Enforcement Administration's early moves to reschedule cannabis could spur some banks to get interested in the market, but experts say without a legislative fix, the fundamental risks to taking on cannabis clients will remain.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., was the only Democratic lawmaker to vote against the legislation, while three Republicans voted in favor.

As cannabis becomes more and more commonplace, reasonable people might wonder why Congress hasn't made it easier for banks to serve legal cannabis businesses. But maybe giving big banks and capital markets a green light to dive into cannabis with both feet is an outcome worth avoiding.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2023, introduced in both the House and Senate would allow regulated banks to work with state-legal cannabis companies.

The SAFE Banking Act has been passable for almost a decade, but one thing or another has always gotten in the way. Congress should pass it now.

The 117th Congress has been surprisingly kind to the banking industry as a whole so far. Can the trend last through the fall? 

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, the bill’s chief sponsor, said the decision would allow people to “continue to be killed” as cannabis companies’ cash is targeted by crime.

A bipartisan group of senators is calling for a bill allowing banks to serve the legal cannabis industry to be included in the U.S.-China trade bill, ending a yearslong blockade of the popular legislation.

Probably, observers say, but the clock is ticking now that the legislation’s author, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, has decided to leave Congress at year-end. And political wrangling could lead to significant alterations.

Lawmakers approved adding the measure, which gives banks legal cover to serve cannabis firms, to a broader legislative package. But the provision has already passed the chamber several times and analysts say full enactment will be more difficult.

The SAFE Banking Act would protect credit unions and banks that serve legal marijuana businesses from prosecution, but anti-money-laundering compliance will always be arduous, says Sundie Seefried, the head of a new company that helps credit unions work with cannabis firms.

Lawyers defending two men accused of defrauding banks into processing pot purchases said banks including Citigroup and Bank of America were happy to look the other way when customers used their credit and debit cards to buy marijuana online.

The legislation easily passed the House in 2019 but was never considered in the Senate. Observers see a more promising path forward this time.

Seven years after regulators issued guidance to financial institutions, a small Michigan credit union was ordered to stop opening new accounts for marijuana businesses.

Sundie Seefried, one of the credit union industry's foremost experts on cannabis banking, will transition to a new role this summer, leading a new venture serving the legal marijuana space.

A growing number of states have chosen to decriminalize or legalize cannabis in recent years. As a result, the legal cannabis industry has experienced exponential growth. Yet banks and other financial institutions are still largely reluctant to partner with cannabis firms due to the lingering conflict between state and federal law. In this episode we will explore: (1) how financial institutions can navigate the regulatory, compliance, and operational challenges facing this sector; and (2) the steps the Biden Administration may take to improve the environment for banking this industry.

A recent agreement with the California Cannabis Industry Association will make it easier for legal cannabis businesses across the state to join the $92 million-asset credit union.