The American Bankers Association, along with 51 state banking associations, are urging the House and Senate to include the SAFE Banking Act in the America COMPETES Act.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act would allow banks to offer banking services to legitimate and licensed cannabis businesses in states where it is legal. It passed in the House in February as part of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act. However, the Senate stripped the SAFE Banking Act out of the America COMPETES Act when it passed it.
Now the two chambers of Congress are working together to come up with a bill both can agree with. ABA and the state banking groups sent a letter on April 28 to congressional leaders, urging the two sides to include SAFE Banking in the final bill.
“The SAFE Banking Act is an urgently needed, and widely supported, bipartisan legislative
solution to allow banks to handle the proceeds from state-licensed cannabis businesses and the
accountants, skilled trades, landlords, law firms, and other service providers they rely upon for legal operations. Federal law prevents banks from banking cannabis businesses, as well as these ancillary businesses, without fear of federal sanctions. As a result, this industry is operating primarily in cash, which causes significant public safety concerns and undermines the ability of cannabis regulators, tax collectors, law enforcement and national security organizations to monitor the industry effectively,” the ABA and state banking associations wrote in a letter.
The bill has passed in the House six times, only to stall out in the Senate each time.
“The inability of the state-licensed cannabis industry to access safe and regulated financial services is a pressing concern for so many of our nation’s communities and the banks that serve them. With state-licensed cannabis businesses currently operating in 37 states and more states weighing legalization, we urge you to include the SAFE Banking Act in the compromise version of the COMPETES Act to address these critical issues as quickly as possible,” the banking groups added.