Exclusive: Former Washington D.C. Attorney General, Karl Racine, Joins Board Of A Cannabis-Friendly Bank Alternative

SHF Holdings, Inc. ( d/b/a/ Safe Harbor Financial) SHFS confirmed Wednesday that Karl A. Racine has commenced active participation on the company’s board of directors following his January 2023 departure from office.

“We are delighted to have Mr. Racine, a celebrated political figure and long-time proponent of the legal cannabis industry, commence active participation on our Board,” stated Sundie Seefried, CEO at Safe Harbor. “Among his many other accomplishments, Mr. Racine spearheaded the bipartisan coalition urging Congress to pass the SAFE Banking Act; and recognizes the importance of providing cannabis-related businesses, or CRBs, with access to the banking system. We are looking forward to his invaluable insights as we continue to enhance our fully compliant cannabis financial services currently serving more than 1000 CRBs across the nation.”

Racine is a litigation partner at Hogan Lovells law firm, representing clients in a wide range of civil and white-collar litigation and investigations. He became the first elected and independent Attorney General for the District of Columbia in 2015 and was reelected to a second term in 2018. During his eight-year tenure, Racine built the District’s first independent office of Attorney General, which is now among the best in the nation. He created a consumer protection office; new agency departments focused on environmental and restorative justice; and tackled issues such as gun violence, affordable housing, gentrification, wage theft and abusive business practices.

“Having had the opportunity over the last several years to watch Safe Harbor Financial thrive, I am honored to now be an active member of the Board and help the company achieve a new level of success as a public entity,” Racine stated. “Cannabis is currently legal in 37 states, yet banks providing services to state-licensed CRBs are subject to criminal and civil liability that inhibits their ability to provide banking services to these businesses. I am impressed with the work Safe Harbor has done over the past seven years to establish a fully compliant cannabis banking platform that has addressed an unmet need for hundreds of CRBs in the U.S., and I am confident in the team’s ability to expand its leadership in the legal cannabis fintech space.”

Racine previously served as the president of the bipartisan National Association of Attorneys General, which in 2022 awarded him and his team a sitting Attorney General’s highest honor: the Kelley-Wyman Award. He also served as the co-chair of the bipartisan Attorney General Alliance Association and co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association. Racine has served as a board member for multiple non-profit organizations, including the Legal Aid Society of Washington and the Network for Victim Recovery of D.C.

Before being elected to public office, Racine had a highly successful career in private practice and government service, and became the first Black managing partner of a top 100 U.S. law firm. He also served as Associate White House Counsel during the Clinton Administration and as a D.C. Public Defender. Racine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

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Related Links:

Safe Harbor Acquires Cannabis Fintech Platform Abaca

Safe Harbor Financial Reports Q3 Revenue Increase To $2.38M QoQ

Photo: Benzinga edit with images from https://oag.dc.gov via Wikimedia Commons and Kym MacKinnon via Unsplash