SAFE Banking Revised, Promised To Pass Swiftly Through Committee Vote Tomorrow

SAFE Banking is now SAFER Banking. The long-awaited bill, which would extend a variety of financial services to the cannabis industry, has been revised and renamed as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. It’s set to receive a vote in the Senate Banking Committee tomorrow, sponsored by Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley and Montana Republican Steve Daines.

There has been major movement on the initiative in recent weeks as bipartisan buy-in reached a tipping point and final negotiations and compromises were put into place to cement support. The resulting changes are mostly fairly minor. They include the addition of language that financial regulators should not let personal beliefs influence decision making and that they must have a “valid” reason for terminating the bank accounts of any business. Additionally, the FDIC will now have one year rather than six months to develop guidance for financial institutions working with cannabis businesses and will now be required to conduct surveys on barriers to banking for small and medium sized businesses.

All in all, lawmakers are feeling confident. Senate Banking chair Sherrod Brown expects the measure to move right through his committee, saying in a recent interview that it will pass decisively.

The wider cannabis and banking industries also came out in support of the bill. The American Bankers Association sent a letter to congressional leadership encouraging its passage, writing, “This important legislation would help bring certainty to an important issue that has become a challenge for so many of our nation’s communities and the banks that serve them. The SAFE Banking Act is an urgently needed, and widely supported, bipartisan solution that will allow banks to handle not only the proceeds from both state-licensed cannabis businesses and the ancillary businesses—accountants, skilled trades, landlords, law firms, and other service providers—those businesses rely upon to operate, but also accept deposits from and make loans to employees of those businesses.” All 50 of its state chapters also voiced their support.

Tagged : cannabis, SAFE, SAFER Banking

GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT 2025 ESTIMATES AND 2030 PROJECTIONS FOR THE WINE AND SPIRITS INDUSTRIES. ORDER YOUR 2025 IMPACT DATABANK REPORTS. CLICK HERE.