Saint Lucia’s bankers are willing to discuss serving the emerging regulated cannabis industry, as the Regulated Substances Authority (RSA) warns that shutting the sector out of banking could push its money into unmonitored channels.
Bankers’ Association President Ron Leon said the association had taken no fixed position on the issue and would listen to stakeholders before deciding its approach.
Speaking at Thursday’s RSA Cannabis Banking and Financial Integrity Summit, Leon said financial institutions were prepared to examine what adjustments might be possible.
“We did not come here with a set position, but we came here to understand what we can do, can change, can tweak, and then at some point formulate our position as an association,” he said.
The summit brought banking representatives, industry stakeholders and government officials together to examine a central challenge: how to bring cannabis businesses into the formal financial system while meeting international compliance standards.
RSA Chief Executive Officer Dylan Norbert-Inglis warned that denying banking access would not stop money from moving through the industry.
“Turning a blind eye to banking in this sector is unwise. We do not stop the flow of capital by doing so. We merely drive it into an unmonitored space,” he said.
He cautioned that reliance on cash could increase the risk of illicit financial flows, tax evasion and money laundering, arguing that efforts to avoid cannabis-related banking risks could create wider financial vulnerabilities.
“We cannot address a modern economic sector with a head in the sand approach,” he said.
As Saint Lucia works towards establishing a regulated cannabis industry, access to banking remains a key unresolved issue. Leon’s remarks signal an openness to dialogue, with the association’s collective position still to be determined.
