Exploring the Financial Crime Risks and Landscape in Cannabis Banking 2023 | American Bankers Association (ABA) | 25 October 2023 | Webinar

In this webinar, seasoned professionals from Crowe LLP will discuss how financial services organizations can balance the scales of benefits, financial crime risks and unknowns when providing services to cannabis-related businesses (CRBs). They also will explore key considerations for any organization’s financial crime risk and compliance programs regardless of status on CRB customer acceptance or onboarding.

Discussion Highlights
• Establish Your Control Foundation: How to successfully develop and define a cannabis risk assessment methodology as a baseline to your CRB program controls.
• Control Environment Discussion: How to comprehensively understand the cannabis ecosystem at your organization and the corresponding impact on the organization’s control environment. What elements of your financial crime risk management program need to be adjusted and how do you adjust them? Discussion to include Governance (e.g., Risk • Assessment, Policies, etc.), Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and onboarding, Suspicious Activity Monitoring, Ongoing Program testing, and Board and Management reporting.
• Optimize Your Cannabis Program and Control Environment: Discussion on leading practices, including:
• Collaborating with executives and applicable committees to confirm risk is recognized for different account types, relationships are created with appropriate approval processes, and ongoing KPI and KRIs are reported to all applicable committees and the Board.
Utilizing technology or supplemental monitoring to drive Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) for an effective understanding of the risk of the cannabis relationship.
Creating appropriate training for all personnel who might handle or process cannabis transactions, inclusive of front-line staff, operations and back-office processing.
Engaging with effective internal or external independent testing partners to challenge the cannabis program in an ongoing manner to confirm controls are operating as intended and challenging them for continuous evolution.

2023 Speakers

Ralph Wright,
Principal, Crowe LLP

Tamara Kolb,
Principal, Crowe LLP

Amy Bean
Financial Crimes Senior Manager, Crowe LLP

Karen Betton
Senior Vice President, Chief Audit and Risk Officer, CFG Bank