Rocky Mountain high

31 July 2015 By Reynolds Holding

A Colorado credit union is suing for access to national check clearing and money transfer systems. The law may be hazy, but opponents sound as if they’re just blowing smoke. Public safety, revenue and transparency are solid reasons for financial regulators to mellow out.

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The Fourth Corner Credit Union, a Colorado bank servicing marijuana-related businesses, sued the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on July 30 for refusing to create a master account that would have allowed the bank to process checks, move money electronically, take credit and debit card payments and otherwise participate in the American financial system.

The reserve bank says denying master accounts is within its discretion, and it took into consideration the National Credit Union Administration’s recent refusal to grant Fourth Corner deposit insurance. The NCUA said the bank had not demonstrated how it would handle the risk of serving an illegal industry with no track record of success.

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