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5 High Risk Areas of Banking Cannabis

5 High Risk Areas of Banking Cannabis

This is a previously recorded webinar, which is available on demand.

In today’s evolving regulatory landscape, the rules on providing financial services to commercial cannabis businesses (CCB) are complex. The commercial cannabis industry is highly regulated and has complex risks to manage: anti money laundering, organized crime, compliance, supply chain, and operational risk areas. The financial institutions that services these customers must understand these 5 high-risk areas to manage their risk appetite.

The number of institutions banking marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) is in the hundreds—up from zero in 2014. Join this panel of professionals for practical guidance on preparing financial institutions for commercial cannabis banking and ongoing controls for one of compliance’s most complex and rapidly evolving customer types.

Hear from Phil Martin, a former Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division manager; Chris Gunias, the Chief Compliance Officer of HDCS; and Cathy Scharf, SVP of Compliance for a mid size bank who services ancillary cannabis businesses. Find out what opportunities banking commercial cannabis businesses provides a financial institution and key considerations to keep in mind if you enter this customer segment.

This webinar provides two hours of ACCCE continuing education credits, which other associations may also accept. We recommend documenting this training for your regulators as two hours of professional training on cannabis banking.

This is a previously recorded webinar, which is available on demand.

ACAMS North Texas Chapter Event: Applying the Cannabis Risk Management Framework to Financial Institution Due Diligence

ACAMS North Texas Chapter Event: Applying the Cannabis Risk Management Framework to Financial Institution Due Diligence

Create your competitive advantage in cannabis banking by removing onboarding and ongoing due diligence friction through the application of the Cannabis Risk Management Framework (CRMF).

Commercial cannabis businesses are considered higher-risk customers. This requires the financial institution to document proof that they can manage the risk of this customer segment. The CRMF provides a risk-based strategy that allows the financial institution to determine if the customer has implemented an effective well-designed risk-based compliance program, which includes demonstrating their appropriate P&P, qualified staff to manage risk, risk assessment, controls tailored to the business’s risk, training, and assurance.

Demonstrating these points allows the financial institution to determine if a higher-risk customer is within their risk appetite by showing the customer’s ability to manage their reputational, compliance, and operational risk without the financial institution having to act as the customer’s proxy cannabis regulator.

ACCCE CCCE Exam Prep

ACCCE CCCE Exam Prep

This session is intended as exam prep for the CCCE exam. This session focuses on:

Workshop scenarios to apply and evaluate the Cannabis Risk Management Framework (CRMF)

Workshop scenarios to apply and evaluate the Risk Assessment

ACCCE CCCP Exam Prep

ACCCE CCCP Exam Prep

This session is intended as exam prep for the CCCP exam or part 1 of 2 for the CCCE exam prep. This session focuses on identifying the vernacular used in cannabis risk management, understanding how to apply risk management specifically to the commercial cannabis industry, and the risk assessment.
This session will cover :

  1. About ACCCE
  2. Breakdown of the Commercial Cannabis Industry
  3. Cannabis Risk Management Framework (CRMF)
  4. Risk Assessment
ACCCE Community Discussion – Breakdown of Commercial Cannabis Industry: Ask a CRB Operator

ACCCE Community Discussion – Breakdown of Commercial Cannabis Industry: Ask a CRB Operator

With over 15 years’ cannabis experience as an owner, manager, operator and broker, and over 100+ million dollars in cannabis product sold, Ron Brandon is an expert cannabis operator. In 2015 he founded Kingston Royal, a cannabis management, consulting, and flower brand that specializes in indoor cannabis cultivation.

Join ACCCE for this Community Discussion where guest speaker Ron Brandon, the Chief Cannabis Officer from NatureTrak, will talk about cultivation and answer any questions the audience may have. Ron will discuss the major risks that he has identified in site inspections, vendor management, and social equity in the cannabis industry.

For those studying for ACCCE certification, we will identify risk scenarios to talk through and opportunities to ask questions about the different types of grow facilities and their associated risks.

Continuing Education: .5

ACCCE Community Discussion – The Risk Assessment Process

ACCCE Community Discussion – The Risk Assessment Process

Improve your risk assessment by hearing from Angelo, a former regulator, with years of risk assessment experience. Ask Angelo your questions to validate your current practices against his knowledge of risk assessment best practices.

The Risk Assessment process will help you identify the highest residual risks that have a material impact on your business so you can allocate resources appropriately. The risk assessment is a foundational component of the risk program because it creates a strong defendable risk culture.

The risk assessment enables prioritization and tailoring of the risk-based control activities.

Join ACCCE for the next community discussion where guest speaker Angelo Coppola, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer of Globex 2000 and former regulator, will talk about the risk assessment process; specifically, how to measure the inherent risks a business is exposed to, how to evaluate the quality of controls implemented, and how to measure the risks that remain. Angelo will be happy to answer any risk assessment questions the audience may have.

For those studying for ACCCE certification, this is a great opportunity to reinforce concepts discussed in the Commercial cannabis Handbook.

Continuing Education: .5

ACCCE On Demand – ACAMS Colorado Chapter – An Update to Cannabis Banking – The Evolution of Lending

ACCCE On Demand – ACAMS Colorado Chapter – An Update to Cannabis Banking – The Evolution of Lending

Financial Institutions (“FIs”) have been offering depository services to the cannabis industry since 1996 and according to FinCEN there are 706 FIs currently filing SARs on customers/members as of June 2022.  However, the cannabis industry has had to seek financing from non-traditional avenues of capital for their financing needs since 1996: personal investment, family, friends, hard money lenders, equity investments, and/or capital improvements via net profits.  The presentation will have an overview of banking cannabis and explore the requirements for FIs to compliantly lend to the cannabis industry.

ACCCE On Demand – Community Discussion – Compliance Employees

ACCCE On Demand – Community Discussion – Compliance Employees

Level: Beginner

Length: 20 min

What does a cannabis risk management professional do within the cannabis industry? Join Melissa Rutherford for an engaging ACCCE Community Discussion where we’ll explore specific examples, including planning for building safety, handling chemical spills, and conducting walk-through testing. Whether you’re just starting your career journey or seeking to expand your knowledge base, this discussion promises valuable insights and practical guidance.

Melissa will share firsthand experiences and best practices, offering invaluable tips to navigate the complexities of risk and compliance management in the cannabis sector.

This is an ACCCE On Demand video, accessible immediately after purchase.

Continuing Education: .5 hour

 

ACCCE On Demand – Community Discussion: Lab Risk

ACCCE On Demand – Community Discussion: Lab Risk

Level: Intermediate

In an insightful full interview available to ACCCE members, we delve into lab risk management and credit risk, exploring incidents like the recent California lab certification issue regarding SB544.  ACCCE is committed to empowering professionals in commercial cannabis risk management.

#CannabisIndustry #RiskManagement #LabOperations #RiskManager #ACCCE

This is an ACCCE On Demand video, accessible immediately after purchase.

Continuing Education: .5 hours

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the THC red flag in COAs
  • Understand that standardization of potency levels is coming
  • Understand the consequences that other licensed operators can expose you to