Ask TASI®

What is TASI Bank’s relationship with the cannabis industry?

TASI Bank has had a relationship with various segments of the cannabis industry for nearly a decade. And starting in late 2023, TASI Bank added Tier 1 industry providers to its roster as a cannabis-friendly bank.

The cannabis industry has traditionally been divided into three segments: those who provide services to companies in the business, like attorneys and CPAs; those who provide facilities, like land and building owners, and those who “touch” cannabis, like growers, distributors, and dispensaries. Those who “touched” the product were classified as Tier 1 and the prohibitions at a federal level prohibited banks and financial institutions from providing direct services to them. The other segments (Tier 2 and Tier 3) were also subject to (less stringent” regulations.

TASI Bank, having worked with Tier 2 and Tier 3 providers and having studied the industry and regulatory environment for several years obtained regulatory approval to add Tier 1 industry participants to its roster of clients.

“We knew the industry, we attended conferences, and we worked with the authorities that policed the industry before we took the step,” said Hitesh Bajaria, regional vice president.

Now, TASI Bank is one of the few California cannabis-friendly banks. It provides cannabis business loans and cannabis credit lines as part of its cannabis lending program.

“We want to be known as a 420-friendly bank,” says Alan Gaul, vice president of marketing, “not simply as a promotional device but because we are.”