Banking

With cannabis still federally prohibited, industry operators don’t have easy access to traditional banking services and frequently face high fees just to acquire and maintain a bank account.

Credit Suisse Group AG is said to be no longer trading or holding shares of cannabis firms with U.S. operations.

At least six financial institutions are currently serving Massachusetts-based cannabusinesses — double the number from just three years ago.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the SAFE Banking Act in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 321-101 vote. The bill moves next to the Senate.

The National Credit Union Administration issued its first-ever administrative order against a financial institution for non-compliance with FinCEN guidelines for serving the cannabis industry.

The SAFE Banking Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill was first passed 18 months ago with immense bipartisan support but never appeared in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Recent FinCEN data suggests the number of financial institutions serving the cannabis industry has leveled off after a steady decline starting in November 2019.

The former CEO of Eaze is expected to plead guilty to charges in connection to a case against two businessmen accused of tricking banks into processing $100 million in illegal debit/credit card payments.

The California Cannabis Industry Association announced a new partnership with North Bay Credit Union that will help some 400 CCIA members get access to traditional financial services.

The number of banks and credit unions working with state-legal cannabis businesses has been on a steady decline since November 2019, according to a new FinCEN report.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threw shade at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi yesterday, suggesting that she claimed cannabis was an effective treatment for COVID-19.

House leadership has included language giving the cannabis industry access to traditional banking and loan services as part of the latest federal coronavirus stimulus plan.

House Democrats have introduced legislation that would give cannabis businesses access to congressional coronavirus stimulus packages.

Congressional lawmakers are standing up for cannabis businesses’ right to access traditional financial services and the federal coronavirus stimulus packages that are currently unavailable to the industry.

Eric Kaufman is the Chief Revenue Officer for Dama Financial, an organization that provides cannabis businesses access to sustainable banking with FDIC-Insured banks eager to cooperate with the cannabis space.

Canadian cannabis companies will be given fair access to the $40 billion approved for federal coronavirus response loans.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that the IRS faces “significant problems” due to the cash-only nature of the cannabis industry and urged lawmakers to address the issue “one way or another.”

President Donald Trump was secretly recorded in 2018 saying that cannabis use makes people “lose IQ points” during a discussion about Colorado’s legal market.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho, says he does not support the SAFE Banking Act because it fails to address issues such as high cannabis potencies and marketing strategies that target children.

Federal regulators have removed barriers that blocked industrial hemp companies from accessing traditional financial services despite the crop’s federally legal status.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill allowing cannabis businesses to take normal business tax deductions alongside several other pieces of cannabis legislation. The governor, however, opted to veto legislation allowing for cannabis use in hospitals.

The House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act this afternoon in a historic and bipartisan landslide of support for giving state-legal cannabis companies access to banking services.

The SAFE Banking Act, which would normalize banking for the cannabis industry, is expected to receive a House vote next week.