In the days before a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration hearing to consider adult-use cannabis’ status under federal law, bipartisan groups of lawmakers in both houses of Congress reintroduced bills that would offer long-sought-after protections for financial institutions doing business with the legal industry.
That’s in large part because “legal clarity for financial institutions to adequately serve state-legal medicinal or recreational cannabis businesses and ensure the safety of our communities” is still necessary even with medical marijuana’s reclassification as a Schedule 3 drug, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, said Thursday.
“It’s past time we ensure legal businesses can access the financial services they need to help keep their employees, their businesses, and their communities safe,” Merkely, the lead sponsor of the Senate version of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2026, said in a statement.
He added: “The SAFE Banking Act is a common-sense, bipartisan solution, and I’ll keep working with both Republicans and Democrats to advance this reform.”
Who is supporting SAFER Banking in Congress?
Merkley’s Senate cosponsors are:
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
- Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
On the House side, the sponsors are
- U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH)
- U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT)
- U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH)
- U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY)
- U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL)
- U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA)
- U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA)
- U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV)
As with prior versions, if passed, the current SAFER Banking Act would not require risk-averse banks to offer loans, checking accounts and other services to the marijuana industry.
However, it would bar federal banking regulators from:
- “(P)rohibiting or discouraging” banks and credit unions from working with state-legal cannabis operators, including by ending or limiting their federal deposit insurance
- “Recommending or incentivizing” banks to stop or downgrade services provided to a cannabis business
- “Taking any action on a loan” to a state-legal operator or owner.
SAFER Banking required even with marijuana rescheduling
American financial institutions have been just as eager for SAFER Banking as the industry.
“We applaud today’s re-introduction of the SAFE Banking Act and urge Congress to advance this bipartisan legislation so banks can finally provide financial services to state-licensed cannabis businesses, as well as the growing number of accountants, skilled trades, landlords, law firms, and other service providers they rely on to do business,” Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, said in a statement.
“In fact, recent changes to federal cannabis policy have provided more confusion and less clarity for financial institutions who must continue to rely on outdated FinCEN guidance from 2014 that no longer aligns with the state and federal cannabis policies it was predicated on – making SAFE even more needed now than ever before,” said Erin Moffett, policy director with the Cannabis Financial Industry Group.
Will President Trump sign SAFER Banking into law?
Passed by the House of Representatives seven times in past Congresses, banking protections for cannabis businesses advanced as far as a Senate Banking Committee hearing in the fall of 2023 before stalling. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who was then the Senate majority leader, claimed he lacked the 60 votes necessary to pass the bill.
Progress on banking protections has since been paused during the Trump administration. Most observers agree that cannabis reform is a long shot at best under Republican leadership in the House of Representatives.
However, that could change thanks to pressure from the Trump White House. And after endorsing adult-use cannabis legalization on the campaign trail and issuing an executive order that culminated in April’s reclassification of medical cannabis, there’s widespread belief that President Donald Trump is committed to the issue.
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“The policy environment now is dramatically different,” said Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH), a lobby group.
“The Trump administration’s move to reschedule cannabis to Schedule 3 signals that the federal government acknowledges that cannabis is an industry deserving of legitimate treatment by financial institutions.”
