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The Shadows Are on the Run: Global Icon Aon Adds Its Heft and Stature to the Legitimization of the Cannabis Industry

Blog Post
September 20, 2024

Following the money and providing a huge push out of the shadows and into the mainstream, Aon, a global firm whose 50,000 employees in 120 countries provide professional and risk management services, has made a broadly based move into supporting the US cannabis industry.

Aon’s move follows hard on the heels of the publicly announced entry into the cannabis markets of First Citizens Bank, the nation’s 19th largest, reflecting the increasing momentum thrusting the cannabis industry into the mainstream. Aon’s move could pave the way for others from the institutional universe, further enhancing the resources available to the industry. It may also add to the cumulation of forces inexorably propelling and impelling (nuanced difference; look it up) it to some form of federal legalization.

We’ve been told that Aon is planning an invitation-only kickoff event around the time of the Benzinga Capital Conference in Chicago in October. Aon has also graciously agreed to co-host an event for the Institutional Cannabis Lending Community (ICLC) the afternoon before the Conference begins, during which time Aon will share with the ICLC’s Participants, on an exclusive basis, its thinking and contemplated product/service suite custom-designed for cannabis businesses. This should also afford Aon the opportunity to benefit from the singularly broad range of the collective industry intelligence, experience, expertise, and contacts accessible among ICLC Participants.

Following its organization less than 18 months ago, the mission of the ICLC is to drive deal flow for and among our institutional Participants and provide ongoing forums for evolving best practices in a rapidly changing landscape. With the announcement in April of three additional Participants, ICLC membership is approaching 30. 

Although the identities of the ICLC’s bank Participants remain confidential, except for First Citizens which authorized its identification, the ICLC’s membership includes a cross-section of geographically dispersed banks ranging in size from single-state community banks up to First Citizens, with discussions about joining currently in process with several other top 50 banks. Additionally, ICLC Participants include: Safe Harbor Financial, a direct lender to the cannabis industry and a conduit for credit union lenders, which reports it has processed more than $12 billion in cannabis-related funds into the financial system; Shield Compliance, a premier provider of cannabis compliance services to about 70 financial institution clients: four major cannabis funds, Altmore, Chicago Atlantic, Rainbow Realty and Silver Spike; specialty lenders, such as Cencor Capital which includes cannabis equipment finance as a core offering; family office and other advisors; and an eclectic mix of others participating in the capital stack and financial services eco-system.

For information about ICLC participation, or how our Participants’ capabilities may be accretive to your businesses, please contact Phoenix Managing Partner Stephen Lenn at salenn@bmdllc.com or Member Brandon Pauley at btpauley@bmdllc.com.

Cannabis IndustryICLCStephen A. LennBrandon Pauley
Client Alert, Blog Post

Explosive Growth in Pot of Gold Opportunity for Bank (and Other) Cannabis Lenders Driving Erosion of the Barriers

May 13, 2022Our original article on bank lending to the cannabis industry anticipated that the convergence of interest between banks and the cannabis industry would draw more and larger banks to the industry. Banks were awash in liquidity with limited deployment options, while bankable cannabis businesses had rapidly growing needs for more and lower cost credit. Since then, the pot of gold opportunity for banks to lend into the cannabis industry has grown exponentially due to a combination of market constraints on equity causing a dramatic shift to debt and the ever-increasing capital needs of one of the country’s fastest growing industries. At the same time, hurdles to entry of new banks are being systematically cleared as the yellow brick road to the cannabis industry’s access to the financial markets is being paved, brick by brick, by the progressively increasing number and size of banks that are now entering the market.Blog Post

Celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 1, 2022In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month), Brennan Manna and Diamond is proud to recognize the contributions and achievements of our AAPI members.Blog Post

Fluresh Cannabis’ Bank Loan: Moving Into the Mainstream

April 18, 2022The announcement by Fluresh, a vertically integrated Michigan based cannabis business, of the closing of loans from a federally insured commercial bank totaling almost $50 million represents an important landmark for both Fluresh and the cannabis industry writ large. For Fluresh, perhaps as important as the bottom-line benefits of lower cost financing, the fact that its operations and financials passed muster with a substantial commercial bank can be regarded as an important rite of passage. For the industry, it reflects its inexorable movement out of the shadows and into the mainstream. This substantiates the view that, whether or not any of pending the federal legislation is enacted, bank lending to the cannabis industry will continue to accelerate.Blog Post

Out of the Shadows | An Investor Summit Recap

February 9, 2022After a COVID hiatus of more than 2 years, I rejoined the institutional cannabis investment speaker circuit, offering the closing remarks at the Kahner Global Cannabis Private Investment Summit in Coral Gables, Florida. My remarks addressed how banking developments are increasingly impacting cannabis investment, operating and financial strategies and decisions, for both plant touching and the growing array of ancillary businesses serving the industry.Blog Post

BMD Announced in Best Law Firms 2022 List

November 4, 2021We are excited to announce that BMD is included in the 2022 Edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms,” recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. The full firm report is included.
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