Credit unions accepting deposits from legal cannabis-related business will not be sanctioned by their federal regulator as long as they are adhering to federal anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act (AML/BSA) requirements and the agency’s own safety and soundness rules, its board chairman said Friday.
Credit Union Times, a trade newspaper, reported Monday that NCUA Board Chairman Rodney E. Hood indicated in an interview that the agency he heads won’t get involved in decisions credit unions make about services offered to their members. “It’s a business decision for the credit unions if they want to take the deposits,” Hood said, the Times reported.
“We don’t get involved with micro-managing credit unions,” Hood said.
The NCUA chairman asserted that, if credit unions providing services to cannabis-related businesses comply with rules by Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), file suspicious activity reports (SARs) and follow other rules, then they will not be cited for doing business with cannabis firms.
However, Hood also told the publication that Congress could remove all ambiguity about credit unions and other financial institutions serving cannabis businesses through legislation. Some groups have called for Congress to pass legislation to ensure that credit unions and other financial institutions in states that have legalized cannabis use may continue to provide secure financial services to legal businesses of their members dealing with the substance.
CUs Won’t Be Sanctioned for Providing Marijuana Banking: NCUA Chairman Hood | Credit Union Times