WASHINGTON–There may be a general reluctance among credit unions and other financial institutions to serve cannabis-related businesses, but that hasn’t stopped them from at least filing the paperwork to serve those companies.
According to data provided by the U.S. Treasury Department and quoted by Marijuana Moment, more than 800 banks and credit unions have filed paperwork with the U.S. government acknowledging their relationships with licensed cannabis businesses.
“This figure is a leap from a year ago in which the agency identified 553 banks (about 11% of all U.S. banks) and 202 credit unions (about 4%of all U.S. credit unions) that were providing banking services to marijuana-related businesses,” Forbes reported.
Action Expected This Week
The development comes as action is expected this week on a revised version of the SAFE Act, which has been stalled in Congress for years. The new bill, called the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, will provide greater clarity and legal certainty at the federal level for financial institutions to provide services to marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) in states that have legalized marijuana, according to proponents.
All of the filings would seem to indicate that should the SAFER Act be enacted, financial institutions, including credit unions, will be ready and waiting.
Two-Thirds of States Have OK’d Cannabis
As CUToday.info has reported, approximately two thirds of states allow legal cannabis markets and more than a third permit recreational use. But a federal prohibition on cannabis has kept many financial institutions on the sidelines,
Forbes quoted a survey conducted in 2022 by Whitney Economics that found more than 70% of participating cannabis businesses say that the “lack of access to banking or investment capital” is their top challenge.
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