This bill, the SAFE Banking Act of 2026, would protect banks, credit unions, insurers, and related institutions that provide financial services to businesses that sell or handle marijuana under state, tribal, or local law. It would bar federal banking regulators from taking adverse actions against a depository institution solely because it serves a state-sanctioned marijuana business. The bill says proceeds from marijuana activities that follow state, tribal, or local law are not unlawful for certain federal money‑laundering laws. It extends liability and forfeiture protections to depository institutions, Federal Reserve and Home Loan Banks, insurers, and some mortgage purchasers and guarantors when they serve state‑sanctioned marijuana or hemp businesses. The bill requires updated guidance for suspicious activity reports, uniform exam procedures for banks that serve these businesses, and updated hemp banking guidance. It treats income from state‑sanctioned marijuana businesses as qualifying income for federally backed single‑family mortgage loans. The bill also requires annual reports on access to banking for minority-, veteran-, and women-owned marijuana businesses and GAO studies on diversity barriers and the effectiveness of suspicious‑activity reports. It says nothing in the bill forces a financial institution to serve these businesses and preserves general supervisory and law enforcement authority.
No publicly available information.
Supporters say the bill creates legal clarity and protections so financial institutions can serve state‑sanctioned marijuana and hemp businesses without fear of certain federal penalties. The text includes findings that hemp businesses have trouble accessing banking and that updated guidance and protections are needed. The bill’s provisions on mortgages and lender protections aim to let income from state‑legal marijuana businesses be used like other lawful income.
No publicly available information.