WASHINGTON—NAFCU has written a new letter in support of including the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act as an amendment to the America COMPETES Act as the House considers the package.
The SAFE Act had been included in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by Congress sin late 2021, before it was pulled from the legislation.
In the letter, Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler noted that NAFCU member credit unions in states that have authorized varying degrees of marijuana use are being approached by members, or potential members, seeking banking services for small businesses that serve the legal cannabis industry.
For financial institutions such as credit unions, there are additional regulatory challenges that compound the uncertainty of providing financial services to state-authorized marijuana-related businesses (MRBs), noted Thaler.
‘Missteps Could Prove Devastating’
"These go beyond just concerns about criminal or civil penalties, but also extend to requirements related to proper suspicious activity report (SAR) and anti-money laundering (AML) filings as related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), access to federal deposit insurance and a Federal Reserve master account, and even potential issues with the Internal Revenue Service," wrote Thaler. "Missteps in these areas could prove devastating to an institution."
Thaler stressed that although NAFCU has not taken any position on the broader question of the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana at any degree at the federal or state level, the trade group supports Congress taking steps found in the SAFE Banking Act to provide greater clarity and legal certainty at the federal level for credit unions that choose to provide financial services to state-authorized MRBs and ancillary businesses that may serve those businesses in states where such activity is legal.
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