California report finds public FI option to serve pot industry a bust
A public credit union, bank or other options would create unacceptable legal, financial risks.
A recently released feasibility study determined that a public financial institution to serve the California marijuana industry would create unacceptable legal and financial risks for the Golden State.
However, the report recommended that California designate a lead agency to improve access to banking for cannabis companies that would, in part, encourage and assist credit unions and banks to serve the state’s multibillion-dollar marijuana market, the nation’s largest.
The 151-page feasibility study, conducted for the Cannabis Banking Working Group chaired by California State Treasurer John Chiang, was reviewed and discussed during a Dec. 27 public hearing at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
After legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana in 1996, California also legalized the recreational use of pot last year. This left California’s cannabis businesses with a big dilemma: Even though marijuana use is legal in the state, it is illegal under federal law.
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