Retracting an Obama administration policy that shielded banks servicing marijuana companies threatens financial firms and makes the pot industry too reliant on cash.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It may be a bigger challenge than financial institutions realize to avoid the cannabis sector, which includes a whole host of ancillary businesses from agricultural supply sellers to real estate developers.
