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Colorado’s Cannabis Cooperatives Remain an Unlikely Solution for Wary Banks
By Brian Monroe
printEven after the expected signing of a Colorado state measure clearing the way for marijuana dispensaries to bank themselves, the companies will face a long slog to acceptance by financial institutions. State lawmakers earlier this month approved House Bill 1398, which would allow associations comprised of cannabis dispensaries to provide banking services to the growing sector, which has been largely shunned by financial institutions wary of federal anti-money laundering laws. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper is expected to sign the bill. But the planned cooperatives will still have one high hurdle to cross: the Federal Reserve. The federal regulator, which does...
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The U.S. Justice Department will draft a plan to more effectively discern whether state and local governments are effectively enforcing federal priorities for state-licensed cannabis sales, a governmental watchdog said Monday.
Colorado's booming cannabis sector may be a boon for the state's coffers but it is proving to be a headache for banks, even when they don't maintain accounts for dispensaries.
The nation's financial intelligence unit will weigh whether additional guidance is needed on how banks should treat clients tangentially or directly associated with state-sanctioned marijuana dispensaries, according to sources.
Drug interdictions, illicit money seizures and suspicious bank wires related to Colorado are all on the rise since the state legalized the recreational use of marijuana, according to U.S. officials.
Looking at two guidance pieces from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) you get a quick lesson in how difficult it can be to regulate issues that society -let alone state and federal government- hasn't reached a consensus on.
Leaders of the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control sharply criticized the head of the nation's financial intelligence unit for issuing guidance on how banks can treat marijuana dispensaries.
As federal and state officials continue down the road toward relaxing cannabis restrictions, banks have questions beyond simply whether they can accept marijuana dispensaries as clients. They wonder whether less direct financial ties to the businesses could be cause for concern too.
Banks can choose whether to keep accounts for certain marijuana dispensaries and report limited information to federal officials when the businesses are unlikely targets of prosecutors, the U.S. Treasury Department said Friday.