On this episode of the Credit Eco to Go podcast with Joann Needleman, there is much speculation that 2021 could be the year that Congress enacts meaningful legislation to allow marijuana related businesses (MRBs) to access financial services. Steven Kemmerling, CEO of CRB Monitor, stops by Clark Hill’s Credit Eco to Go to discuss what banks are doing now to manage risk for their current depositors who may only have remote or indirect ties to MRBs. Although the data from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FIN Cen) suggests See more +

On this episode of the Credit Eco to Go podcast with Joann Needleman, there is much speculation that 2021 could be the year that Congress enacts meaningful legislation to allow marijuana related businesses (MRBs) to access financial services. Steven Kemmerling, CEO of CRB Monitor, stops by Clark Hill’s Credit Eco to Go to discuss what banks are doing now to manage risk for their current depositors who may only have remote or indirect ties to MRBs. Although the data from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FIN Cen) suggests several hundred banks are currently servicing cannabis customers, that number is deceiving. In actuality the number of banks who are knowingly servicing cannabis customers is quite small. According to Steve, federal legislation will not remove the high risk element of cannabis banking. Like other high risk yet legal industries such as gambling and gun sales, banks will still need to invest in a costly compliance infrastructure passing that expense along to the depositor. Only when the federal government takes a wholistic approach to cannabis banking, will banks be willing to wholly adopt and provide financial services on a large scale. See less -