8 Wall Street Bank CEOs Reluctant To Take A Stand On Cannabis Reform After Sen. Questions Them During Hearing

In a three-hour Senate Banking Committee hearing on Wednesday, US. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) asked eight CEOs of the biggest banks in the country to raise their hands if they support the SAFER Banking Act. Only Brian Moynihan, CEO and chairman of Bank of America BAC raised one finger to indicate some kind of support, while the remaining seven CEOs kept their hands in place, reported Cannabis Business Times.

Warnock seemed surprised. “None of you support the SAFER Banking Act?” 

Moynihan replied. “Senator. We all support the intent of it. The problem is it doesn’t fix the problem. So, don’t take our non-ascensions as…” Warnock cut him off, saying “Let me ask my next question. Raise your hand if you believe passing the SAFER Banking Act will reduce—will reduce—the racial wealth gap.”

While Mohniahan and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM kind of flipped their hands, Charles Scharf of Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, Jane Fraser of Citigroup C,  Ronald O’Hanley of State Street STT, Robin Vince of Bank of New York Mellon BK, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs GS, and James Gorman of Morgan Stanley MS, remained more still. 

“So, this is interesting, and so we should have some conversation about this,” Warnock said. “The American Bankers Association, of which all of you are a part, writes that this legislation will provide ‘legal and regulatory clarity’ for banks, and it would help facilitate access to financial services. My question is legal and regulatory clarity for whom and who are we making safer?”

Warnock said he is open to passing the SAFE Banking Act, but he fears that if it passes now “then your banks and other powerful voices will be missing in action when it comes time to address broader harms of the War on Drugs.”

See Also: Safe Cannabis Banking Is Already Possible Despite Conflict Between State & Federal Law, New Guide Reveals

What About Equity? 

The senator added his concern about equity and asked the CEOs if they'd commit to ensuring their banks will uphold the standards in the Community Reinvestment Act to increase equity if Congress moves forward on passing the SAFER Banking Act.

Per the Federal Reserve Board, “The Community Reinvestment Act is a United States federal law designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.”

All eight bank heads said that they would support the intent, but would want to see the details. 

See the full conversation about SAFE at the hearing in the video below: 

Read more on Cannabis Business Times. 

See Also: How Does Cannabis Reclassification To Schedule III Differ From De-Scheduling & What Is Ideal Reform? Legal Expert Explains

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by MiosotisJade via Wikimedia Commons, 2211473abhijithsaravanan via Wikimedia Commons, Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia via Wikimedia Commons, and Jeff W on Unsplash