NCUA’s Hood: Hemp legalization is ‘a significant step forward’
NCUA Board Chairman Rodney Hood expanded on the NCUA’s recently published interim guidance allowing federally insured credit unions to provide certain financial services to legally operating hemp business in an op-ed in the Lexington Herald Leader.
“The decision to legalize hemp production represents a significant step forward that will make a real difference in rural communities,” wrote Hood.
The guidance – developed at the request of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., – was given in the form of a regulatory alert to update credit unions about recent changes in federal law and regulation related to hemp.
“Financial services products are like oxygen: Industries and entrepreneurs need them to survive,” noted Hood. “Entrepreneurship is hard enough without creating obstacles that lock businesses out of the financial system.”
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