The Risks and Rewards of Cannabis Banking (ABA/ABA Financial Crimes Enforcement Virtual Conference)

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

This panel was recorded for the American Bankers Association’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference. The panel features industry experts sharing their first-hand experiences developing, supporting, and scaling cannabis banking programs. The panel explores both the risks and the opportunities that banks must navigate, along with relevant insights, practical advice and candid stories from the front-lines of this emerging space.

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Moderator: 

Mike Kennedy, Co-Founder and Head of Product & Strategy, Green Check Verified

Panelists: 

John Geiringer

  • Partner, Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP
  • Regulatory section leader of the firm’s banking practice
  • Former bank regulator

Katrina Skinner

  • Partner, Burns & Levinson LLP
  • Former president and general counsel for Safe Harbor Private Bank, a CUSO focused exclusively on serving the legal cannabis industry
  • Cannabis and banking expert

Stacy Litke

  • Director, Bank Compliance & Oversight, Green Check Verified
  • Community banker in residence 

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MEET OUR

Presenters

Mike Kennedy

Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer, Green Check

Mike is a co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Green Check. Mike has extensive experience working with banks and credit unions to leverage technology to better manage their compliance and risk functions. Mike deeply understands the cost and complexities involved with maintaining compliance from work with hundreds of banks and credit unions.

Stacy Litke

VP, Banking Programs, Green Check

Stacy Litke is VP of Banking Programs at Green Check Verified with decades of experience in the financial services industry.  Time spent in retail, lending, operations, and technology — and from the seats of a community banker, fintech executive, and consultant — has provided Stacy with a comprehensive view of the industry.  Prior to joining Green Check, Stacy was SVP of Operations for a Massachusetts-based, $900 million institution.  Today, she uses her collective experience to help financial institutions with compliant cannabis banking programs.

John Geiringer

Partner, Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP

As the Regulatory Section Leader of the Firm’s Financial Institutions Group, John concentrates his practice on regulatory, governance, and investigative matters involving financial institutions.

He is a frequent speaker and author in the financial institutions area on issues surrounding banking regulations, examinations, and enforcement actions. John teaches banking law and regulation at Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Graduate Program in Financial Services Law and serves on the board of advisors of its Institute for Compliance. He is the co-editor of the two-volume edition, Advising Illinois Financial Institutions, in which he wrote a chapter on bank enforcement issues, and is the co-author of the chapter “Bank Examination and Enforcement” in The Keys to Banking Law: A Handbook for Lawyers (2017). Read full bio.

Katrina Skinner

Partner, Burns & Levinson LLP

Katrina Skinner is an experienced attorney and subject matter expert in the financial services industry for banking legal cannabis-related businesses. As the former President and General Counsel for Safe Harbor Services, LLC, she learned the intricacies and practical applications of cannabis law in multiple states, federal and state regulations, and finance, and is often asked to speak about them.