Scott H. Moskol and Lauren Medeiros Forster —
Whether you are a cannabis operator, lender, or investor, you have probably been hearing a lot of buzz about the potential rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act, especially following President Trump’s recent executive order directing federal agencies to initiate the process of rescheduling marijuana and reviewing related regulations. It is an exciting development, and there is plenty of reason for optimism, but let’s take a look at what this shift could change (and likely not change) when it comes to banking, lending, and financial services in cannabis.
- The Banking Landscape: Evolution, Not Revolution
It is likely that rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III will not dramatically change what banks are presently required to do under the Bank Secrecy Act (the “BSA”) and the 2014 FinCEN guidance on banking marijuana-related businesses. These BSA-related compliance obligations (i.e., the enhanced due diligence, suspicious activity reporting, and monitoring requirements) will not vanish as a result of rescheduling. Banks will still need to navigate a complex regulatory and compliance environment, and if you are a financial institution already working with cannabis operators or you are a cannabis business already working with a financial institution, your day-to-day relationship will not change.
What the industry is hoping for, however, is that rescheduling will prompt federal regulators to issue amended or entirely new guidance on how banks can engage with the cannabis industry. That kind of updated regulatory framework could open doors to more streamlined processes and potentially reduce some of the friction that has defined cannabis banking for years but more importantly bring in new financial institutions providing banking and lending services to the industry. Eyes should be kept on Treasury and the banking regulators—their next moves will matter once cannabis is rescheduled.
