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HomeBank of Arkansas to Bank Medical Marijuana Industry

1 min read

A small Arkansas bank is stepping forward to provide banking services to the medical marijuana industry.

HomeBank of Arkansas, which is chartered in Ashley County in southeast Arkansas, officially announced plans Thursday to team with Safe Harbor Services, a subsidiary created last year by Partner Colorado Credit Union.

The companies said they would team to provide traditional depository services to the cannabis industry in Arkansas.

“We’re excited to be working with [CEO John Stacks] and his team to offer a viable banking option for legal cannabis businesses and keep communities safer throughout Arkansas,” said Katrina Skinner, Safe Harbor’s interim president and general counsel.

“We’ve worked collaboratively with HomeBank on a slow, methodical way to adapt our program to meet their needs and ensure the safety and soundness of their institution,” she added.

Arkansas Business first reported in December that HomeBank — not to be confused with Home BancShares Inc. of Conway — was preparing to get into the business.

The bank is one of the 15 smallest in Arkansas. It is officially chartered at Portland, where it was founded as The Peoples Bank in 1908. Most of its business is in north-central Arkansas — Greenbrier, Damascus, Marshall.

Banking has posed a challenge to the state’s nascent marijuana industry; banks doing business with companies whose products violate federal law face heavy regulation.

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