Here we go again. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) banking bill passed the House earlier this month. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it passed the House in 2019, only to end up going nowhere in the Senate. Democrats also included it as part of a coronavirus relief bill last year, only for it to eventually get stripped out.
But this time, things are different. Unlike in previous years when there was stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate, Democrats now have control of Congress. There is a far greater likelihood that the bill will not only get some attention in the Senate, but that it will pass. Here is why the bill matters and why it could send pot stocks to new heights.
It will address some major problems for the industry
The SAFE banking bill would make it easier for banks to conduct business with cannabis companies. Many large financial institutions are wary of offering services to marijuana businesses because of the federal prohibition of pot, which can make it difficult to simply obtain a bank account. That doesn’t mean no one offers banking services. According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), there were 515 banks and 169 credit unions that were providing banking services to the industry as of the end of the first quarter of 2021.
But that doesn’t mean that cannabis companies can obtain loans or that the process isn’t cumbersome for financial…
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Here we go again. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) banking bill passed the House earlier this month. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it passed the House in 2019, only to end up going nowhere in the Senate. Democrats also included it as part of a coronavirus relief bill last year, only for it to eventually get stripped out.
But this time, things are different. Unlike in previous years when there was stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate, Democrats now have control of Congress. There is a far greater likelihood that the bill will not only get some attention in the Senate, but that it will pass. Here is why the bill matters and why it could send pot stocks to new heights.
It will address some major problems for the industry
The SAFE banking bill would make it easier for banks to conduct business with cannabis companies. Many large financial institutions are wary of offering services to marijuana businesses because of the federal prohibition of pot, which can make it difficult to simply obtain a bank account. That doesn’t mean no one offers banking services. According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), there were 515 banks and 169 credit unions that were providing banking services to the industry as of the end of the first quarter of 2021.
But that doesn’t mean that cannabis companies can obtain loans or that the process isn’t cumbersome for financial…