Survey: Most Bankers In The US Want To Get Cannabis Clients—With Federal Protection

Fintech company Promontory Interfinancial Network recently conducted a survey of bankers in the U.S. Results showed that 82 percent of respondents think the federal government should allow them to serve plant-touching cannabis businesses. Such legislation, dubbed SAFE Banking Act is in the works right now.

“The results of Promontory’s new Q1 2019 Bank Executive Business Outlook Survey strongly suggest that bankers eye marijuana-based business as an opportunity for growth. Although federal law still treats marijuana as an illegal substance, a clear majority of the executives surveyed at 453 banks said they want that to change,” a company representative told Benzinga.

Interestingly, support levels peaked in the West (89 percent) and the Midwest (85 percent). In the South, where no state has fully-legal cannabis, support for banking protections reached 76 percent.

When prompted about the survey, Paul Weinstein, Senior Policy Advisor at Promontory Interfinancial Network told Benzinga, “The banking sector clearly sees commercial cannabis as a business opportunity, and wants the federal government to clarify how financial institutions can legally provide services to those companies in those states where marijuana sales are legal.”

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