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business Thursday 21 January 2021
Deal offers more banking services for California pot firms

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD Los Angeles-based United linked money, but it didn’t
Associated Press Cannabis Business Associa- clear the Senate.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Cal- tion, said the agreement The industry is hoping for
ifornia cannabis industry represents another encour- regulatory gains in Wash-
group announced Tuesday aging step as more finan- ington with the arrival of
that it reached an agree- cial institutions open their the new administration and
ment with a state credit doors to the industry. Democratic control of the
union that will provide With growing acceptance Senate.
checking, wire transfers of cannabis nationwide, President-elect Joe Biden
and other banking services along with regulatory was once known as an an-
for more marijuana com- changes, “there are more ti-drug warrior but has soft-
panies, helping ease what banks that are willing to ened his tone over time. He
has been an obstacle for tell people they are willing has said he would decrimi-
many businesses. to accept cannabis ac- nalize — but not legalize —
Most Americans live in counts,” he said. the use of marijuana, while
states where cannabis is In this June 27, 2017, file photo, bundles of $20 bills are placed As of Sept. 30, federal reg- expunging all prior can-
legally available in some on a table as Jerred Kiloh, owner of the Higher Path medical ulators reported that 677 nabis use convictions and
form, and broad legal marijuana dispensary, prepares a trip to Los Angeles City Hall to banks and credit unions ending jail time for drug use
marijuana sales began pay his monthly tax payment in cash in Los Angeles. were providing services for alone. However, legaliza-
Associated Press
in California in 2018. But marijuana business. That tion advocates recall with
there’s been a problem members will gain access number of state financial represents a small fraction bitterness that he was a
when it comes to banks: to banking services through institutions willing to handle of the overall banking in- leading Senate supporter
Many don’t want anything the California-based North cannabis-linked funds is dustry, and the figure had of a 1994 crime bill that
to do with money from the Bay Credit Union. gradually growing, and a declined slightly in 2020, a sent droves of minor drug
cannabis industry for fear “Since California legalized state law enacted last year drop attributed in part to offenders to prison.
it could expose them to cannabis, operators have was designed to provide business closings caused Even if there are doubts
legal trouble from the fed- faced significant struggles legal safeguards for banks by coronavirus restrictions. within the industry about
eral government, which still with banking and payment and credit unions engag- Efforts to broaden banking Biden, the Democratic Par-
considers marijuana illegal. services, given the federal ing with marijuana compa- access for pot companies ty is clearly more welcom-
As a result, many marijuana government’s continued nies. have stalled in Congress. ing to cannabis reform,
companies in California’s ban on cannabis prod- The credit union said on its The House in September especially its progressive
multibillion-dollar market ucts,” the group said in a website that it has been of- passed a bill to allow busi- wing. Both the House and
have been left to do busi- statement. The agreement fering banking services to nesses legitimately oper- Senate will be under Demo-
ness largely in cash, making is intended “to alleviate the cannabis industry since ating under state laws to cratic control this year, and
them appealing targets for the banking obstacles that 2017. Medicinal cannabis access loans, lines of credit Vice President-elect Ka-
crime. cannabis operators face, sales have been legal in and other banking services, mala Harris has said mak-
Under the partnership, the so they can focus on their California for over two de- while sheltering financial in- ing pot legal at the federal
California Cannabis In- core business.” cades. stitutions from prosecution level is the “smart thing to
dustry Association said its Industry experts say the Jerred Kiloh, who heads the for handling marijuana- do.”q

Netflix’s big 4Q lifts video service above 200M subscribers

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE projected by Netflix’s own ed more than 170 million
AP Technology Writer management and Wall additional subscribers.
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) Street analysts, even as the Netflix gained another 37
— Netflix’s video stream- company began rolling million subscribers last year,
ing service has surpassed out price increases of 8% a 22% increase from 2019.
200 million subscribers for to 13% in the U.S. Netflix’s Its stock fared even better,
the first time as its expand- stock surged by more than rising by 67% last year. The
ing line-up of TV series and 12% extended trading after Los Gatos, California, com-
movies continues to capti- the latest subscriber num- pany now boasts a market
vate people stuck at home bers came out. value of more than $220 bil-
during the ongoing battle After upending the DVD- lion.
against the pandemic. rental industry, Netflix intro- For all its success, Netflix
The subscriber milestone duced the then-revolution- still faces challenges in the This Aug. 13, 2020, file photo shows a logo for Netflix on a remote
highlighted Netflix’s fourth- ary concept of streaming coming years from bevy of control in Portland, Ore.
quarter results released TV shows and films 14 years deep-pocketed rivals, with Associated Press
Tuesday. The service added ago. At that time, its service perhaps the most formi- in its first year, embolden- duction.”
another 8.5 million subscrib- had a mere 6 million sub- dable posed by a more ex- ing the company’s man- To retain and attract sub-
ers during the October-De- scribers. perienced and even larger agement to predict that it scribers, Netflix already had
cember period, capping The streaming service be- entertainment company: will boast as many as 260 been spending so much
Netflix’s biggest year since gan to grow rapidly seven Walt Disney Co. million subscribers at some money on original pro-
its inception as a DVD-by- years ago when Netflix After deciding to stop li- point in 2024. gramming that the com-
mail service in 1997. Netflix started producing its own censing its library to Netflix, “It is super impressive what pany usually ends up shov-
ended the year with nearly shows and accelerated a Disney introduced its own Disney has done,” Netflix eling out more cash than its
204 million worldwide sub- worldwide expansion that video streaming service 14 co-CEO Reed Hastings said video services brings in from
scribers. now spans more than 190 months ago. The service, in Tuesday video discus- its subscribers, although it
The fourth-quarter gains countries. Since the Feb- Disney Plus, has proved far sion with investors. “It gets has remained profitable
easily topped the projec- ruary 2013 debut of its first more popular than anyone us fired up about increas- under the accounting stan-
tions of the roughly 6 mil- original series, “House of imagined, accumulating ing our membership and dards allowed in the enter-
lion additional subscribers Cards,” Netflix has attract- nearly 90 million subscribers increasing our content pro- tainment industry.q