News Topic: Marijuana industry

During his time as U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions was an outspoken opponent of the legalization of cannabis sales. Now that Sessions has resigned, legal marijuana is poised to become a growth industry. ... Read full article

The $506 million-asset GFA Federal Credit Union says it will begin accepting clients in the recreational marijuana business, making it the first Massachusetts financial institution to do so. ... Read full article

Many financial institutions are unaware that they're banking marijuana-related businesses, pot bankers and regtech experts say. ... Read full article

Aurora Cannabis in Edmonton, Alberta, said it recently agreed to a $150M term loan and a $50M line of credit from Bank of Montreal, the largest traditional bank investment into the marijuana industry to date. ... Read full article

Despite bipartisan support, the latest congressional effort to enable the legal marijuana industry's access to the banking system still faces plenty of roadblocks. ... Read full article

In a break with his own Justice Department, President Trump suggested Friday he would sign a bill co-authored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren to protect financial institutions that help legal marijuana businesses. ... Read full article

The bipartisan legislation would enable business in legal-marijuana states to access banking services, removing a key hurdle for a fast-growing industry. ... Read full article

California lawmakers have voted to authorize the establishment of state-chartered banks for the limited purpose of serving the marijuana industry. ... Read full article

With the state only months away from allowing the sale of pot for recreational use, its top cannabis regulator is urging policymakers to consider creating a public bank to provide services to growers and dispensaries that might otherwise have nowhere else ... Read full article

Retracting an Obama administration policy that shielded banks servicing marijuana companies threatens financial firms and makes the pot industry too reliant on cash. ... Read full article

Financial institutions are facing considerable uncertainty following the Department of Justice’s decision to rescind Obama-era guidance for the legal marijuana business, but there are steps they can take to reduce their risks. ... Read full article

The Maryland credit union will offer business services to the medical cannabis industry. ... Read full article

Calling the move "depressing," Chairman Ken LaRoe said the decision to stop working with medical marijuana firms came after certain investors objected. Recent moves by the federal government cemented the call. ... Read full article

Dueling blockchain stories — one arguing it was virtually useless, the other saying it could change real estate lending — seized the top spots this week, while readers also focused on tax reform aftermath and a key Senate retirement. ... Read full article

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to rescind an Obama-era directive that helped foster the marijuana sector’s growth raises new risks for banks and credit unions that do business with growers and dispensaries. ... Read full article

Banks and their regulators quickly got back up to speed in markets hit hard by recent hurricanes, in part due to the lessons learned by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, a panel of regulators said Tuesday. ... Read full article

With marijuana sales set to become legal in California soon, a working group there says that a state-backed financial institution should be among the measures weighed to address the lack of banking services available to the pot industry. ... Read full article

The Florida bank started researching the business after Ken LaRoe, its chairman, saw how medical marijuana had helped his wife cope with a severe injury. First Green is now turning a profit a year after adding its first pot-related client. ... Read full article