NASCUS CEO LUCY ITO RESPONDS TO CHAIRMAN HOOD’S CANNABIS BANKING COMMENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 5, 2019

CONTACT: Shelton Roulhac, NASCUS Communications; sroulhac@nascus.org

NASCUS CEO LUCY ITO RESPONDS TO CHAIRMAN HOOD’S CANNABIS BANKING COMMENTS

Arlington, VA – In a recent interview with Credit Union Times, NCUA Chairman Hood asserted that credit unions in states where marijuana is legal will not be sanctioned for providing services to cannabis-related businesses as long as they adhere to the rules governing money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and safety and soundness.

NASCUS President and CEO Lucy Ito issued the following statements in response to Chairman Hood’s comments.

“We support Chairman Hood’s decision to not penalize credit unions for serving state-authorized cannabis-related businesses,” said NASCUS President & CEO Lucy Ito. “A credit union’s decision to serve these businesses, is based on a wide-range of factors, including the needs of their community, public safety and the potential for criminal and civil penalties. We commend the Chairman for providing credit unions with this clarification from NCUA which will assist credit unions in weighing the risks associated with serving or not serving legal cannabis businesses. NASCUS calls on Congress to provide additional clarity by passing legislation permitting credit unions to serve legal, state-authorized cannabis-related businesses.”

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Information Contact:
Shelton Roulhac, Vice President, Communications, sroulhac@nascus.org or (703) 528-5974

NASCUS is the national association that advocates for a strong and healthy state credit union system, and whose members include state regulatory agencies, credit unions, credit union leagues, and organizations that support the state credit union system.