Two of the main financial institutions in Massachusetts that bank marijuana businesses are planning to expand their services.
Gardner-based GFA Credit Union, which became the first financial institution in the state to bank recreational marijuana last year, is planning to start originating loans to businesses that grow, process and sell marijuana, according to The Boston Globe. Those could potentially begin in the fall.
The Globe also reported, citing anonymous sources, that Medford-based Century Bank, the first bank in Massachusetts to serve medical marijuana companies, is expanding its offerings to bank recreational marijuana companies as well.
When GFA launched its marijuana operations last year, it initially said it would offer cash management, checking accounts, payroll, wire transfers and bill payments. But the bank also did not rule out making loans down the line.
GFA CEO Tina Sbrega told the Globe that the logistics behind the program are still being thought through, but that the credit union hopes to move forward regardless of whether pending bills in Congress that would remove the legal threat of banking marijuana pass or not.
“We are examining it and working hard because we understand these are legitimate businesses,” Sbrega said. “The demand is there and the need is there.”
While GFA would become one of the only U.S. financial institutions openly lending to marijuana companies, other financial institutions have waded into similar waters. Banker & Tradesman previously reported that several banks and credit unions in the state were lending to property owners that went on to lease their facilities to marijuana businesses or operations.
Century Bank’s reported move into marijuana sector is a significant reversal from CEO Barry Sloane’s statements to the Boston Business Journal in late 2018 that the bank would not offer services to recreational businesses unless federal law changed.
The medical marijuana business had reportedly been very profitable for Century Bank. The Boston Business Journal reported the bank was charging those companies $5,000 a month solely for checking services.
