Cannabis plants grow in a greenhouse at the CannTrust Holdings Inc. Niagara Perpetual Harvest facility in Pelham, Ontario, Canada. Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg
A federal prohibition on marijuana has locked U.S. banks out of an industry surging toward $75 billion in sales. Who's catching that money? A small number of local credit unions, and the women who run their operations.
Sundie Seefried's credit union near Denver has only six branches, but last month it raked in $160 million from cannabis-related ventures desperate for a place to stow cash. As chief executive officer of Partner Colorado Credit Union, she assembled a 13-person team that screens those companies, accepting about 200. Depositors don't collect interest — they pay fees for due diligence.
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