A total of 812 banks and credit unions filed paperwork with the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as of June 30, 2023, acknowledging involvement with state-licensed cannabis businesses, according to quarterly data from the U.S. Treasury Department.
The data shows a 7.5% increase in the number of banks and credit unions working with cannabis operators over the 553 banks and 202 credit unions the department reported in 2022. The increase could likely be attributed to New York and Connecticut launching their respective adult-use cannabis programs since the federal agency’s previous update.
FinCEN compiles data on banks and credit unions filing suspicious activity reports for marijuana-related businesses.
The federal agency added considerably more details in its cannabis banking reporting for 2023, by including insights on the variations of SARs received and a breakdown of filings by state. The five states with the highest number of filings during Q2 2023 are as follows: California with 3,757, Oklahoma with 2,531, Washington with 1,970 and both Colorado and Missouri with 951.
The breakdown of the 812 banking institutions includes: 496 banks, 177 credit unions and 139 non-depository institutes.