It was zero degrees in Denver on a late December morning, and the ice-covered streets were mostly empty. Mark Mason, wearing a full-length black coat, green wool hat and sunglasses, sat in a white Buick LaCrosse, eyeing the squat building across the street. It was the local branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. “Behind that […]
Banking
Oregon’s MBank Opens Doors to Colorado Marijuana Businesses
An Oregon bank is openly offering service to the marijuana industry in Colorado at a time when banks here are lurking mostly in the shadows. MBank, based outside Portland, is part of a growing number of financial institutions, mostly Washington-based credit unions, that are banking openly with marijuana businesses. But it is the first to […]
Banking on Pot: Arizona’s Banks and Medical-Marijuana Dispensaries Seek an Unprosecutable Relationship
On a recent Friday afternoon, Nick Kriaris, owner of Encanto Green Cross medical-marijuana dispensary in Phoenix, and his brother, Chris, tried to open an account at Bank of America for their nonprofit business with $420 in cash. The attempt at the bank branch at 3030 North Central Avenue was, to some extent, a stunt, from […]
