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The House Monday passed legislation that would provide a safe harbor for credit unions and other lenders that serve marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) in states that have legalized marijuana. The House passed the bill in 2019, but it was never taken up by the Senate. The House also passed these provisions in its proposed HEROES Act relief package last spring.

While NAFCU has not and will not take a position on the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana, the association has developed resources and provides updates on the political and regulatory landscape surrounding marijuana banking to help credit unions better understand the current state of play in this area. 

The SAFE Banking Act – introduced by House Financial Services Committee members Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio – is intended to allow legitimate cannabis-related businesses and service providers access to financial services in order to reduce the amount of cash at such businesses and increase public safety. It looks to protect depository institutions from adverse actions by regulators, including having their deposit or share insurance terminated or limited, but does not require depository institutions to provide financial services to MRBs.

It also requires financial institutions providing services to MRBs to comply with Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)-related guidance issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is also instructed to update the guidance within 180 days of the bill's enactment.

Ahead of the chamber's vote, NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs sent a letter to lawmakers detailing issues facing credit unions in states that have legalized marijuana as it relates to clear guidance and legal certainty for serving MRBs. While there are still areas that need to be addressed, Thaler said the legislation "would be an important step towards improving clarity and addressing what is often perceived as misalignment between federal and state laws" and urged lawmakers to support the measure.

It now heads to the Senate for consideration. NAFCU anticipates that senators may look to merge this legislation with broader implications of marijuana legalization, such as criminal justice reform, as it considers the banking aspect.

NAFCU released an updated marijuana banking brief in December, which highlighted another House-passed bill that aimed to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and address previous marijuana convictions and tax revenue issues.

Relatedly, the NCUA earlier this year released an enforcement action against a Michigan credit union for compliance failures related to its MRB accounts and BSA requirements. A NAFCU Compliance Blog provides further details of the enforcement action.