MBank Nixes Services for Colorado MJ Companies

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Well that was quick.

MBank, the Oregon-based financial institution that recently announced it would begin serving Colorado marijuana companies, changed its mind and announced on Monday that it doesn’t have the resources necessary to handle demand.

Jef Baker, the bank’s chief executive officer, said inquiries for service had been “overwhelming,” and consequently the bank decided to cancel its plans to operate in Colorado because it’s simply too far from its headquarters, according to the Denver Post.

“Colorado is the farthest from our market area and the most difficult to provide the quality customer service to,” Baker said.

MBank will continue working with cannabis businesses in Washington and Oregon.

One potential factor in the decision, the Post reported, is that federal banking regulators may have warned MBank that crossing such a geographic distance without a branch in Colorado was “simply too risky.”

MBank had already opened five accounts from Colorado marijuana firms, which will likely be closed, and another 60 that had expressed interest won’t be served, according to the newspaper. Baker didn’t rule out the possibility of MBank returning to Colorado, but he wouldn’t offer a timeline.