New York Marijuana Officials Launch Directory To Connect Industry With Banks Amid Growing Calls For Federal Reform

New York regulators have launched a new resource meant to connect licensed marijuana businesses with banks that are willing to work with the industry, even as federal prohibition continues to pose barriers to financial services.

The state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced on Wednesday that it has created a Cannabis Banking Directory, which currently lists 10 financial institutions that say they’re servicing marijuana businesses and are open to new clients as New York’s market expands.

“This initiative is part of the Office’s strategic efforts to reduce regulatory barriers and improve financial stability for cannabis businesses,” OCM said. “The lack of accessible, compliant financial services has long been a challenge for licensed operators, complicating essential operations and transparency.”

“The Cannabis Banking Directory addresses these issues by bridging the gap between cannabis entrepreneurs and banks and credit unions that understand the unique needs of the industry,” it said. “If you are a licensed cannabis business in search of reliable banking services, or a financial institution ready to support our industry, we encourage you to utilize this valuable resource.”

In 2023, the governor of New York signed legislation that aims to make it slightly easier for financial institutions to work with state-licensed cannabis clients.

The law authorized OCM to provide financial institutions with information about marijuana business licensees or applicants, which is meant to ease compliance with reporting requirements. Licensees and applicants would first have to consent to information being shared.

The new directory’s launch came on the same day that U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle addressed the lack of banking access for the marijuana industry at a committee hearing, with one GOP member suggesting that the issue warrants a broader examination of federal cannabis policies.

Congressional researchers also recently released a report detailing the subject of debanking—while making a point to address how the marijuana industry’s financial services access problem “sits at the nexus” of a state-federal policy conflict that complicates the debate.

While the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act to address the issue is expected to be filed again this session—that introduction is “not imminent” as some recent reports have suggested, a spokesperson for the GOP House sponsor of the last version told Marijuana Moment last month.

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Meanwhile, back in New York, senators recently introduced a bill for the 2025 session to broadly decriminalize drug possession.

Several psychedelics bills have also been filed in New York for the new session—including one calling for the legalization of certain entheogenic substances such as psilocybin and ibogaine for adults 21 and older.

New York officials also recently announced that the state’s legal marijuana market has now surpassed the $1 billion sales mark. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) called the milestone “a testament to the hard work of those who helped build the strongest cannabis industry in the nation: one that prioritizes equity, ensures public safety, and empowers communities.”

The figure reflects total sales since the cannabis market’s launch more than two years ago, in late 2022.

After a slow rollout in marked by lawsuits and other delays, legal marijuana sales in New York have picked up significantly in the past several months. Regulators say that’s the result of more licensed businesses opening as well as what they describe as a successful crackdown on unlicensed shops.

Separately, in November, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D) called for the state to extend financial aid to retail operators operators struggling under high-cost loans from a social equity fund created as a core part of the legalization program.

Later in the month, Hochul signed two new cannabis-related bills into law—one to revive the Cannabis Growers Showcase program, where producers sell products directly to consumers at farmers market-style events, and another clarifying that cannabis is categorized as an agricultural crop in the state.

The governor argued in June, meanwhile, that there’s a direct correlation between stepped-up enforcement and “dramatically” increased legal sales. A report by state officials earlier this year found both “growing pains” and “successful efforts” in New York’s marijuana market launch.

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