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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)
Wednesday,December30,2015The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon17 Banks shy away from Oregon’s legal marijuana businesses SALEM(AP)—Banksin Oregon are reluctant to deal withthestate’snewlegalmari- juanabusinessesbecausethey fearafederalbacklash. Securing something as simpleasacheckingaccount can be nearly impossible for cannabisbusinessowners,The Statesman Journalnewspaper reported. Therearesomeexceptions, includingMapsCreditUnion, buteventhisfinancialinstitu- tion takes precautions when it comes to marijuana busi- ness.Thecredituniondoesn’t advertise the accounts, for example,andbusinesseswith accounts are asked to sign a non-disclosureagreement. Other banks are wary of assurancesfromfederalagen- ciesthatiftheyservecanna- bisbusinessestheywon’tface money-launderingcharges. According to marijuana businessowners,somebanks have told them that serving theirbusinessescouldleadto the banks’ losing their FDIC insurance. However, a 2014 directive from the Financial CrimesEnforcementNetwork, adivisionoftheU.S.Treasury, provides some clarity on the issue. Bankscanservethosebusi- nesses,aslongastheyfollow strict anti-money-laundering procedures. Nevertheless,potbusiness owners across Oregon have openedaccountsonlytohave themquietlyclosedwhenthe bank discovered the nature of their enterprise. Most are stuckconductingtransactions incash,includingvendorpay- mentsandpayroll. By compelling oregon business owners to operate on a cash-only basis, current federal laws are making marijuana businesses sitting ducks for violent crimes and perpetuating negative stereotypes. — Sen. Ron Wyden “By compelling Oregon business owners to operate onacash-onlybasis,current federallawsaremakingmari- juanabusinessessittingducks forviolentcrimesandperpetu- atingnegativestereotypes.Itis ridiculoustomake any busi- nessownercarryduffelbags ofcashjusttopaytheirtaxes,” Sen.RonWydensaidinJuly afterhe,Sen.JeffMerkleyand two senators from Colorado introducedreformlegislation toCongress. Cannabisbusinessowners face other challenges. They often have trouble renting space because landlords fear banks could pull their mort- gage for paying loans with moneyconnectedtopot. ShaneSaunders,vicepresi- dent of operations for Maps, saystheymadetheirdecision to be involved in marijuana businessinsupportofcommu- nitysafety. “Thethoughtofsomeguy walkingoutofhisbusinessat nightandgoingtoanenviron- It is ridiculous to make any business owner carry duffel bags of cash just to pay their taxes. — Sen. Ron Wyden ment where there might be lots of people, with $25,000 incashinhisbackpacktobuy moneyordersjustdoesn’tsit right,”hesaid.“Wetookthe commentsbySenatorWyden toheart.” Don Morse, director of the Oregon Cannabis Busi- ness Council and owner of the Human Collective mari- juanadispensary,saidhe’shad fivecreditcardsdiscontinued because of his business. He can’trememberthenumberof times his checking accounts havebeenshutdown. Norris Monson, CEO of several Oregon-based mari- juana businesses, said he’s hadaccountsclosedforcash- ingchecksfromvendorswith names including cannabis- relatedterms. Morse said banks haven’t disclosedwhytheyclosedhis accounts. “It’s always like, ‘You knowwhywe’reshuttingyou down,’”hesaid. BankofAmericaandWells Fargoaresomeofthebankshe said have closedaccounts of OCBCmembers. Bank ofAmerica did not returnphonecalls,butsubmit- tedastatement:“AtBankof America,asafederallyregu- latedfinancialinstitution,we abide by federal law and do not bank marijuana-related businesses.” Wells Fargo also submit- tedastatement:“Thesaleof marijuanaisstillillegalatthe federal level and as a result, we do not bank marijuana businesses.” When asked if pot-relatedaccountswouldbe closed, Wells Fargo spokes- woman Lara Underhill said ifbankpolicyisn’tbeingfol- lowed,they“actaccordingly.” Withthemuch-neededser- viceMapsisoffering,whyis thecreditunionsosecretive? “It’ssuchaweirdplaceto be,”Saunderssaid.“Normally you’d love word-of-mouth. Thisisoneareawherewe’re not necessarily interested in banking every dispensary in Oregon.” Thereare334dispensaries registered in Oregon. Maps handles accounts for fewer than50ofthem. Thecreditunionhasalist ofrequirementsamarijuana- relatedbusinessmustmeetto maintainanaccountthatkeeps regulators happy — from financialcheckstoarequire- ment that they don’t deposit moneysmellinglikemarijuana inthecreditunion. Several credit unions in Washington have also found ways to cope with these high-riskaccounts,including NumericaCreditUnioninthe Spokane Valley and Seattle- basedSalalCreditUnion.