California to allow banks to service licensed cannabis businesses

State Issues State Legislation Cannabis Banking

On September 29, the California governor approved AB 1525, which provides, among other things, that banks and accountants that provide financial services to cannabis businesses are not in violation of California law “solely by virtue of the fact that the person receiving the benefit of any of those services engages in commercial cannabis activity as a licensee.” The bill also allows licensed cannabis businesses to sign a waiver permitting state or local licensing and regulatory authorities to share “application, license, and other regulatory and financial information” with a designated financial institution “for the purpose of facilitating the provision of financial services for that licensee.”