Fourth Corner Credit Union got conditional approval from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City to serve marijuana-related businesses and advocacy groups in Colorado.
Now, the Denver-based company is asking a federal court to deliver a faster resolution in its case against the NCUA over share insurance.
In 2015, Fourth Corner sued the NCUA for denying it federal share insurance. NCUA has asked Fourth Corner to voluntarily dismiss the case and reapply for insurance. Without any assurances that the agency will approve a new application, Fourth Corner is not dropping the suit, but rather, is seeking resolution through mediation.
Fourth Corner is asking the court to mandate that mediation take place within 30 days.
Fourth Corner got approval from the Kansas City Fed to serve individuals and companies that support the legalized marijuana industry, such as accountants, lawyers, and landlords. However, they cannot serve state-licensed dispensaries directly.
However, to do so, they need federal share insurance (or, alternatively, private insurance). If the court agrees to Fourth Corner’s request, the credit union could open for business soon.
The National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) has made resources available on this issue to help credit unions understand the compliance risk of serving marijuana businesses.