NAFCU offers support for the inclusion of marijuana banking legislation in the America COMPETES Act

by NAFCU Newsroom

NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler Wednesday wrote to the House to offer support for the inclusion of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act as an amendment to the America COMPETES Act as the House considers the package this week.

In the letter, 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 like credit unions, there are additional regulatory challenges that compound the uncertainty of providing financial services to state-authorized marijuana-related businesses (MRBs), noted Thaler.

“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.”

 

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