BarbriSFCourseDetails
  • videocam Live Online with Live Q&A
  • calendar_month November 12, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
  • signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
  • card_travel Banking and Finance
  • schedule 90 minutes

Banking Issues in the Cannabis Industry: Managing Risks Under State and Federal Law; Recent Developments

$347.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

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Description

While medical use of cannabis is legal in 40 states and recreational use is legal in 24 states and Washington, D.C, cannabis remains illegal at the federal level under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Many financial institutions will not provide banking services to CRBs due to this conflict between state and federal laws. Bank counsel must be able to navigate the regulatory complexities created by this conflict in advising banks doing business with CRBs.

Banks face inconsistent regulatory approaches taken by different administrations and different federal agencies. FinCEN issued FIN-2014-G001 to clarify how financial institutions can provide services to CRBs and set forth reporting requirements, including suspicious activity reports (SARs). The Treasury Department has indicated that FIN-2014-G001 remains in place, even though the Cole Memo, which correlated to FIN-2014-F001, was rescinded in 2018. Also, FinCEN has recently shown it will continue to enforce its 2014 Marijuana Bank Secrecy Act Guidance.

Before taking deposits or transacting business with CRBs, financial institution counsel must understand the relevant Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering (AML) issues and fully comply with federal Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. Lending to a CRB is risk-inherent because cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the CSA. Enforcement rights for lenders may be curtailed by limiting loan enforcement remedies only to state law and in state court.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which was introduced in 2023, prohibits federal banking regulators from penalizing banks and credit unions for serving state-legal cannabis businesses. Despite a great deal of momentum in the House, this Act did not ultimately become law and has now been reintroduced in 2025 as the Secure And Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. The SAFER Banking Act is now the primary legislation for federal cannabis banking reform in 2025, and it offers a legal framework for cannabis banking. Under the SAFER Banking Act, CRBs operating in compliance with state law would have access to checking accounts, loans, electronic banking, and other financial products.

Listen as our authoritative panel discusses these and other issues confronting banks that contemplate taking deposits or provide financing to CRBs. The panel will also discuss steps for banks and other financial institutions to avoid regulatory pitfalls and workarounds to resolve enforcement risks.

Presented By

Charles Alovisetti
Chair, Corporate Department
Vicente LLP

Mr. Alovisetti advises investors, companies, and other law firms on complex corporate transactions across highly regulated industries, with a particular depth of experience in cannabis, hemp, psychedelics, and emerging consumer products. Extensive experience managing licensed transactions across major regulated markets provides Mr. Alovisetti with deep insight into state and local regulatory nuances, particularly regarding stock and asset acquisitions, management structures, and strategic investment planning. He also counsels emerging growth and portfolio companies on general corporate governance, commercial transactions, and compensation arrangements. Mr. Alovisetti is the co-author of The Business of Cannabis: Understanding Law, Finance, and Governance in America’s Newest Industry, the definitive industry legal resource. He frequently advises mainstream companies exploring investments in regulated markets, helping them evaluate and structure opportunities to mitigate risk.

James K. Landau
Partner
Lachtman, Cohen, & Belowich LLP

Mr. Landau’s practice focuses on providing day-to-day business counseling to cannabis and other businesses with an eye toward avoiding problems before they arise. He also represents clients in litigation before federal, New York State, and local courts and other tribunals, including arbitration and mediation before the American Arbitration Association. Mr. Landau is a thought leader in the cannabis legal community. He frequently writes and speaks on such topics as attorney ethics, cannabis banking and licensing of cannabis businesses. He is Chair of the Ethics Committee of the Cannabis Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and Co-Chair of the Cannabis and CBD Litigation Committee of NYSBA’s Commercial and Federal Litigation Section. Mr. Landau is also a Founder and Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Westchester County Bar Association’s Cannabis Law Committee and a Director and Chair of the Regulatory Committee of the Hudson Valley Cannabis Industry Association. 

Jonathan S. Robbins
Chair, Cannabis Practice
Akerman LLP

Mr. Robbins counsels clients on the evolving, complex legal and business issues impacting companies with interests in the regulated substances industries. He is a founding board member of the National Cannabis Bar Association and is also an active member of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Mr. Robbins brings deep experience representing public and private companies and individuals in complex regulatory and litigation matters in the regulated substances sectors. His experience encompasses investigations and administrative and enforcement proceedings brought by federal, state, and self-regulatory bodies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Florida Attorney General’s Office, Florida Department of Financial Services, and Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. In addition to his growing cannabis practice, Mr. Robbins also represents public and private companies and individuals in complex regulatory, and litigation matters in the financial services and regulated substances sectors.

Credit Information
  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

Date + Time

  • event

    Wednesday, November 12, 2025

  • schedule

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

I. Legalization of cannabis at the state level: current status

II. Federal regulation

A. Controlled Substances Act

B. FIN-2014-G001 and the Cole Memo

C. DOJ vs. Treasury pronouncements

III. SAFE and SAFER Banking Acts

IV. Doing business with CRBs

A. Reporting requirements under FIN-2014-G001: SARs

B. Compliance with AML and KYC requirements and the Bank Secrecy Act

V. Enforcement issues

A. State level remedies

B. Issues in bankruptcy: federal jurisdiction


The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • How have banks reacted to the legalization of cannabis in various states given its treatment as a controlled substance at the federal level?
  • What were the safe harbors provided under FIN-2014-G001 and the Cole Memo, and how have policy pronouncements by the Trump administration affected them?
  • What concerns should CRB lenders have in regard to remedies given the illegal nature of the underlying collateral under federal law?
  • Why is compliance with AML and KYC requirements especially important before taking deposits from CRBs?
  • What types of protections does the SAFER Act provide for banks and financial institutions doing business with CRBs?