While federal data show some banks have been willing to serve the marijuana industry in recent years, those banks are few and far between in Colorado - and they prefer to stay anonymous.
Amanda Averch, director of communications for The Colorado Bankers Association, said her organization is aware of 12 banks in Colorado that are willing to work with the marijuana industry. She did not disclose which banks work with such businesses.
"They are serving the industry on a limited basis and doing so anonymously," she said. "They are doing so under close supervision of their regulators with the knowledge of their board of directors and their regulators have told them not to expand their business."
Two years ago, the U.S. Treasury Department relaxed the laws that prohibited banks and credit unions from receiving marijuana money. Now banks can handle such transactions if they can prove that their customers are in compliance with state laws and aren't part of a criminal network.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a memo in 2014 that lays out the rules for banks that do business with marijuana businesses:
"In general, the decision to open, close, or refuse any particular account or relationship should be made by each financial institution based on a number of factors specific to that institution. These factors may include its particular business objectives, an evaluation of the risks associated with offering a particular product or service, and its capacity to manage those risks effectively. Thorough customer due diligence is a critical aspect of making this assessment."
But the banks still face risk, and the few Colorado banks that work with the industry do so on a "very-limited basis," Averch said.
"If their regulators change their minds, absolutely there is risk," she said. "The penalties are severe, up to and including banks being shut down."
Federal data show that the number of banks and credit unions across the country willing to handle pot money under Treasury Department guidelines issued two years ago has jumped from 51 in March 2014 to 301 last month.
Marijuana's prohibition under federal law still presents a serious hurdle for pot-related businesses, which generally can't accept credit or debit cards due to card companies' fears about liability for money laundering or other offenses.
Many legal pot shops in Washington, Colorado and Oregon - the only states with legal recreational sales - and dispensaries in medical marijuana states keep ATMs on site to facilitate cash transactions.
Some local banks that once had marijuana customers have changed their minds.
Paul Steinke, CEO of Pikes Peak Credit Union, said his organization with branches in Colorado Springs and Woodland Park once had customers in the marijuana industry but has since closed those accounts.
"It was strongly recommended by regulators that we close them and we don't have them now," he said. "We are federally insured and this is still not legal on the federal level. It was a can of worms that we want to stay away from."
If federal laws were to change, he's not sure if they would again consider having those customers.
"We would take another look at it and would take it to our board of directors for them to decide," he said. "Probably we would not get involved in it. The risk and the reward is not there."
Averch said some of the bankers association members have shown interest in working more with the marijuana industry if federal rules are changed.
"The way we look at it, about a third of our banks would serve the industry, a third would not, and a third don't care one way or the other," she said.
Her organization hopes federal laws do change.
"We really do feel for them, because that's a legal business in this state and we feel they should be able to conduct their affairs like any other legal business," she said. "We don't know what they are doing with that money now. That's a huge public safety concern, and it makes them targets for would-be criminals."
Last year, a bipartisan group of senators from Colorado, Oregon and Washington introduced the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act, and a similar version was introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden. Both bills were sent to committees last summer, but no action has been taken since.
