Cannabis Financial Industry Group Releases Standards As Debate Over SAFE Banking Drags On In Congress

The Cannabis Financial Industry Group (CFIG), a coalition of financial institutions and associated risk-mitigating service providers functioning in the regulated cannabis industry, announced the publication of baseline banking standards for any financial institutions interested in or currently banking the state-legal cannabis industry.

Titled “Program Standards for Cannabis-Serving Financial Institutions,” the resource is meant to help financial institutions better understand the strict compliance cannabis banking programs need to adhere to now and in the future as the SAFE Banking Act or other federal cannabis policies shift. 

“Since the formal launch of CFIG earlier this year, our members have been actively engaged in congressional conversations as the SAFE Banking Act is moving through the Senate, shining a light on the high cost of compliance and extreme due diligence involved in existing cannabis banking programs,” said Saphira Galoob, executive director of CFIG in an email to Benzinga. “The release of CFIG’s standards could not be more timely as this bipartisan bill will hopefully advance with the urgency the situation demands and as more states establish or expand their legal cannabis programs. It is vital that lawmakers, regulators, and interested banks understand the processes in place to report suspicious activities and ongoing anti-money laundering efforts as the cannabis industry continues to adhere to strict self-regulations in the face of federal prohibition.”

Alan Hyatt, chairman of CFIG and Shore United Bank stressed the importance of fully understanding what is going on in this politically-tinged area.

“As emphasized in our banking standards, financial institutions must have a full understanding of an ever-shifting regulatory and industry environment, requiring a well-defined, well-structured, and well-documented program to adhere to the transparency, compliancy, and adaptability banking cannabis demands," said Hyatt. He echoed the thoughts of many in the industry, "we hope Congress will help us in this effort by finally passing the bipartisan SAFE Banking Act into law.”

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