Banking for Pot Industry Hits a Roadblock

Banking regulators just said no to a financial institution that aims to be the first to serve the expanding marijuana industry in Colorado.

The Fourth Corner Credit Union in Denver applied in November to the Federal Reserve for a “master account,” which would allow it to interact with other financial institutions and open its doors to some of the hundreds of state-licensed marijuana businesses in Colorado.

Although recreational marijuana has been legalized in Colorado, it is still illegal on the federal level, discouraging most traditional banks from working with pot businesses.

The Fed’s branch in Kansas City, which has been reviewing the application, privately informed the Fourth Corner Credit Union earlier in July that it had not been approved for a master account, the credit union said on Thursday. [Read More in the NY Times]