A recent survey released by the American Bankers Association has found that almost 70% of Americans are in favor of allowing financial institutions to work with cannabis businesses without the threat of being penalized. The poll, which was conducted by Morning Consult, interviewed more than 2,000 adults between February 18–19, 2022.
The survey asked respondents a pair of questions on cannabis banking. The first asked respondents whether they support or oppose allowing cannabis businesses to “access traditional banking services, like a checking account or business loan, in states where cannabis is now legal.” The poll found that 65% were in favor of this, with only 15% opposing it. The second question asked respondents whether Congress needed to pass a bill that would accomplish this reform, with 68% indicating that legislators did need to approve the measure.
The bipartisan measure in question, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act, would offer protections to banks that worked with state-legal cannabis businesses. This bill has been approved in some form in the House half a dozen times. However, it has yet to be passed in the Senate.
In a press release, Rob Nichols, the CEO of the American Bankers Association, highlighted that consumers agreed that the time had come to allow banks to serve legal marijuana and marijuana-related businesses. Nichols noted that this measure would help banks meet communities’ needs while also improving the financial transparency of the growing marijuana industry, increasing tax collection efficiency and increasing public safety.
The American Bankers Association was one of several insurance, financial and labor groups that called on Congress to approve the cannabis banking reform as part of a large-scale defense legislation last year. The bill’s language was successfully attached to the defense measure by the banking bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ed Perlmutter. However, the language was scraped off later during bicameral negotiations.
This may change now, after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has been an obstacle to the banking measure’s approval in the Senate, revealed that approving the bill was a possibility if some equity provisions were included. Soon after this, Perlmutter stated that he was open to revisions, noting that he was confident that the Senate would take up his measure before he went into retirement at the end of this session.
Many hope that the banking measure will soon be approved, as the number of banks working with legal cannabis businesses increases. As the relationship between mainstream banks and licensed marijuana companies such as Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB) (OTCQX: RWBYF) is allowed under federal law, we are likely to see the industry grow at a faster rate since companies will have access to needed services, including bank loans to fund their growth.
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