The Ohio medical marijuana industry is ready to go live, with most of the pieces in place to complete the regulatory structure passed by the Ohio General Assembly in September of 2016. However, like the medical marijuana industry in general, the Ohio market will have a difficult time accessing banking services. This is because while marijuana may be legal under state law, it is still illegal under federal law, and thus banks are reluctant to offer banking services to the industry for fear of violating federal banking laws and rules to which the banks are subject.
However, there are signs in Ohio that banks may be beginning to give the medical marijuana industry a fresh look. Recently, Wright-Patt Credit Union in Dayton, through its board of directors, gave approval for the credit union to begin offering limited services to the medical marijuana industry. At this point, the nature of the services and what they might include have not been specified. Additionally, the Ohio Department of Commerce, through its Division of Financial Institutions, recently issued guidance for banks contemplating getting into the industry.
The decision by Wright-Patt, while isolated in Ohio, reflects a national trend in the industry. By the end of March 2018, 411 banks and credit unions in the U.S. were “actively” operating accounts for marijuana businesses, according to a report prepared by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). That’s up more than 20% from when President Trump took office.
The business reasons for the timing of the announcement are not entirely clear. Banks and credit unions in other states, mostly state chartered, have quietly served the industry to varying degrees for years. Some banks do increased due diligence on their marijuana clients to ensure compliance with a FinCEN memo of February 2014, while other banks may turn a blind eye. What is becoming clear is that as more states pass laws legalizing marijuana and the federal climate for rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and re-examining cannabis related issues continues to improve, many financial institutions want to be ready to jump into a large and growing marketplace that is woefully underserved.