Reliable Cannabis and Hemp Banking Lawyer — Your Trusted Partner
Cannabis and hemp banking compliance refers to the set of legal, regulatory, and operational measures that financial institutions must implement to provide services to cannabis-related businesses (CRBs) in a compliant and safe manner.
Although cannabis remains federally illegal, institutions can serve this industry by adhering to specific federal guidance and FinCEN's 2014 memo and maintaining robust compliance programs that meet Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements.
At Cogent Law, we recognize that cannabis businesses face unique legal challenges, particularly around accessing and managing financial services. Our cannabis and hemp banking lawyers guide financial institutions and cannabis businesses through this complex and evolving legal landscape, ensuring compliance and minimizing legal risks.
Our cannabis and hemp banking attorneys have years of expertise creating and launching cannabis and hemp banking programs. Several of our attorneys were formerly in-house general counsel and chief compliance officers at financial institutions that successfully launched cannabis and hemp banking programs, including lending services. Our team is fully equipped to address all your needs related to creating and launching a cannabis and hemp banking program at your bank or credit union.
Counsel in this practice: Chris Van Dyck, Joshua Radbod.
Who Needs Cannabis and Hemp Banking Compliance Services?
Both financial institutions and cannabis businesses can benefit greatly from working with a qualified cannabis and hemp banking attorney to help manage risks, maintain compliance, and secure access to essential banking services.
How Cogent Law Can Help
Cogent Law provides comprehensive legal guidance and strategic support to institutions and businesses navigating the cannabis and hemp banking sector.
Benefits of Hiring an Attorney for Cannabis and Hemp Banking Compliance
Is your financial institution offering, or considering offering, financial services to cannabis-related businesses (CRBs)?
Here's a free guide & checklist developed by Chris to assist your financial institution so that it appropriately manages the risks and meets the regulatory expectations of having a CRB program.
Download Free GuideWhat to Expect When Working With Cogent Law
Initial Consultation
We assess your institution's or business's goals, risk tolerance, and current compliance posture to determine feasibility and outline strategic next steps.
Customized Roadmap
We provide a detailed, tailored plan for building or enhancing your cannabis and hemp banking program, based on your market, risk appetite, and objectives.
Policy and Procedure Development
We draft and implement cannabis-specific policies and procedures aligned with regulatory expectations, BSA/AML requirements, and examiner standards.
Training and Education
We offer targeted training to ensure leadership and compliance teams understand all cannabis-related regulatory requirements and risks.
Ongoing Compliance and Risk Management
As regulations evolve and your business scales, we remain by your side to provide continued legal guidance and support.
Profitability Optimization
We advise on structuring fees and services to create a sustainable and profitable cannabis and hemp banking program.
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FAQ: Cannabis and Hemp Banking Compliance
Determining readiness involves evaluating your institution's risk appetite, compliance infrastructure, and operational capacity.
While cannabis remains federally illegal, financial institutions that follow FinCEN's 2014 guidance and BSA/AML protocols with robust compliance frameworks will not compromise their CAMELS ratings.
No specific federal license exists for cannabis and hemp banking, nor are institutions required to notify their regulators about their cannabis and hemp banking programs. However, regulators expect full transparency.
Regulators expect your institution to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the risks associated with serving CRBs, implement robust policies and procedures, conduct enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring, and file appropriate SARs and CTRs.
Key elements include comprehensive CRB onboarding policies, procedures for ongoing transaction monitoring and SAR reporting, risk assessment methodologies, and clear guidelines for account closures and risk mitigation.
Many institutions adopt fee-based models, including account maintenance fees, transaction fees, and loan origination fees. We work with clients to develop pricing structures that reflect compliance costs and risks.
Yes, but lending to CRBs introduces additional legal, credit, and compliance risks. Proper structuring of loan agreements, risk assessments, and regulatory documentation is essential.
The primary risks include federal enforcement actions (mitigated by compliance with FinCEN guidance), reputational risk, operational risks due to increased compliance demands, and regulatory scrutiny.
Institutions must adopt a risk-based approach, recognizing that state legality does not remove federal risk. Our team provides external legal opinions to support decision-making.
We offer full examination support, including preparing documentation, coaching for staff on responding to examiner inquiries, and assisting with post-examination remediation efforts.
ROI involves evaluating potential revenue streams (fees, deposits, lending) against the cost of implementing and maintaining the compliance program.
Staff should receive training on CRB onboarding and due diligence protocols, BSA/AML requirements specific to cannabis and hemp banking, SAR reporting procedures, and examiner expectations.