Cannabis real estate lender gets FDIC-backed credit line

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Pelorus Equity Group, a California-based commercial real estate lender to cannabis-related businesses, said it has secured a federally insured $20 million line of credit.

Pelorus said it believes it’s the first company in the cannabis sector to obtain such a credit line from a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured bank. That statement couldn’t immediately be verified.

The FDIC is an independent agency created by Congress that insures deposits and oversees financial institutions for safety and soundness.

The company said the credit line is at a low annual interest rate of 4.75% with no fees, depending on a business owner’s qualifications.

Pelorus CEO Dan Leimel attributed the FDIC-backed credit line as a result of the company’s “decades of commercial real estate experience” and “track record of success in cannabis.”

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Just last month, Pelorus raised $42.3 million from the sale of five-year senior unsecured notes at a 7% annual interest rate.

Leimel said the new funds will enable the company to offer lower financing costs to its cannabis customers.

To date, Pelorus said it has completed 58 commercial real-estate loan transactions and has deployed $225 million to cannabis businesses.