Large bank working with company aiming to tap Florida MMJ market

One of the biggest financial institutions in the Tampa Bay area has extended a $100,000 line of credit to a company that hopes to capitalize on Florida’s upcoming medical marijuana industry.

Regions Bank is providing the credit line to Efftec International Inc., a Las Vegas-based firm that owns a majority stake in Future Farms, the Jacksonville Business Journal reported. Future Farms is a retail indoor garden and hydroponics center in Miami.

Future Farms plans on getting into the medical cannabis industry if Florida voters approve MMJ at the ballot box in November.

Efftec also announced in February that it was serving as a consultant to a cannabis grower in southern California.

According to a press release, Efftec received an $80,000 line of credit from Regions at 7% per annum to fund Future Farms’ expansion, and another $20,000 on a credit card for “working capital needs.”

The Regions Financial Corp. – a $126 billion company headquartered in Alabama which is the parent of Regions Bank – did not comment to the Jacksonville Business Journal on why it decided to grant the line of credit to Efftec, or on whether it will be working with other cannabis companies.

The number of financial institutions working with the cannabis industry in recent years has jumped dramatically: As of March, 301 banks were granting services to marijuana businesses, according to information obtained by the Associated Press.