Marijuana Business Magazine November-December 2019

November-December 2019 | mjbizdaily.com 155 We tell our cannabis customers to expect a much more involved and high-touch banking relationship than they might be used to because of the level of information that the bank is required to have is so much greater in this industry.” —Dan Roda Co-founder and CEO of Abaca KushCo tries to abate some of the risk of losing access to financial services by banking with more than one institution. “You always have to have irons in the fire. We’re set up with credit unions that will bank us and are openly banking the cannabis sector, so we haven’t had as many issues with those guys. And then we have gone through our series of national accounts,” Kovacevich said. In early August, Kovacevich said KushCo had “two accounts set up with national banks, and we’re always living in fear one of those is going to get shut down.” By late September, the company said it was down to only one national banking partner. “That’s just the nature of our industry,” Kovacevich said. KushCo has developed several “know your client” policies to give its financial institutions and others confidence the company is not engaging in illegal activities or working with others who are not playing by the rules. For example, the company requires proof that its customers are properly licensed, tracks that deliveries are sent to licensed locations and has its website access blocked in states that don’t have a legal cannabis program. “I like to keep my little list of banks that have turned us down and turned me down personally. Presumably, one day they’re going to come crawling back,” Kovacevich said. An intensely focused yet aptly mellow approach to cannabis M&A. 1592 Union Street, Suite 325 San Francisco, CA 94123 415-215-5227 BRE License # 01354419 Our sole focus is California’s cannabis industry, so we interact with more businesses here than any other investment bank. And that’s how we get deals done in California. See our completed deals: KOacq.com/transactions