Denver credit union focused on cannabis gets limited approval

DENVER — A credit union in Denver focused on serving the cannabis industry has gotten conditional approval from the Federal Reserve for a master account.

The Federal Reserve in Kansas City is conditionally granting the account to The Fourth Corner Credit Union, reports The Cannabist. The move is a win for the financial institution, which has been trying to provide services to the marijuana industry for four years.

The Cannabist reports strict guidelines the credit union must follow:

• Fourth Corner must meet Colorado Division of Financial Services requirements, which includes getting share deposit insurance.
• It must provide the Federal Reserve of Kansas City a letter from the Colorado Division of Financial Services saying the requirements were met.
• It must provide a letter showing it received share deposit insurance from the National Credit Union Administration or a private insurer that meets Colorado’s guidelines.
• Fourth Corner must adopt bylaws that no services be provided to “marijuana-related businesses” until federal law allows for those services to be provided to such businesses.

Fourth Corner, which was founded in 2014, obtained a state charter but was denied a master account by the regional bank for the Federal Reserve System. The credit union went through the appeal process until it got this approval with conditions.

The caveat that it cannot yet serve “marijuana-related businesses” means it can serve legalization supporters and businesses that are ancillary to the cannabis industry. It cannot serve businesses that touch the plant.

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