Just when it seemed like the cannabis industry would have access to banking through the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Act, which was included in the May 12 COVID relief bill that was approved by the House on May 12, things quickly changed. The provision was excluded in the most recent version, approved by Senate
Financial institutions received the OK to work with hemp in recent years, but it is largely unchartered territory for many banks and credit unions. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently issued guidance to financial institutions on how to best work with hemp businesses and stay within the law. Hemp-related businesses can now work with
Fewer banks reported that they worked with cannabis-related businesses in the latest report from Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), but it’s not clear why. FinCEN suggested in its report that this short-term decline could be because financial institutions are exceeding the 90-day requirement for filing suspicious activity reports (SARs). Banks must file SARs when working
A renewed push for cannabis banking regulations has seen the latest coronavirus relief bill adopt them as it was approved in the House of Representatives. The Health and Economic Recover Omnibus Solutions (HEROES) Act, aka H.R. 6800, includes many facets, and cannabis banking provisions brought over from the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act
People in the cannabis industry aren’t the only ones who want to see banking access opened up -- attorneys general from 34 U.S. states and territories have sent an urgent message to Congress to make it happen. Calling the status quo “an untenable situation,” the attorneys general signed a letter in favor of the Safe
Long-awaited banking regulations for cannabis looked unlikely to pass, but the newest coronavirus relief bill may be able to bring it across the finish line. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act has been in the works since last year and actually made historic progress by passing the House of Representatives but seemed to
Cannabis represents a mutli-billion dollar industry and thousands of jobs in the U.S. but is excluded in all crisis responses, including COVID-19. The pandemic has impacted every industry and the economy as a whole. Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to offer support to U.S. businesses as shelter-in-place orders impacted
Every facet of the economy has felt the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) but one industry was specifically left out of the relief bill: cannabis. Congress passed a bill to implement the Payment Protection Program, a federally funded program that the Small Business Administration would offer what are initially loans to companies to cover
Federal regulators updated their rules around hemp-related businesses recently and banks have taken notice, with more banks transitioning to the new hemp rules and filing fewer suspicious activity reports (SARs). This is good news for banks that have been tip-toeing around regulators with every cannabis- and hemp-related business account. They have been able to ramp
