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California regulator issues guidance for banks serving cannabis businesses

The California Department of Business Oversight issued an extensive questionnaire that provides guidance to banks and other financial institutions seeking to serve cannabis-related businesses.

The questionnaire contains a compliance guide on the Bank Secrecy Act, with a focus on the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and its guidance on cannabis banking. The California regulator also reaffirmed its intention not to impose regulatory penalties on state-chartered banks and credit unions if they provide financial services to licensed cannabis businesses.

In September, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to provide safe harbor to financial institutions seeking to serve cannabis-related businesses. The bill would also extend the same protections to insurance companies, brokers and agents. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, recently expressed support for a Senate version of the bill that would extend the same protections to financial institutions.