About the Cannabis Banking Professional Certification Program

715 banks and credit unions serve the U.S. cannabis industry and every state has at least one financial institution that serves cannabis businesses. The Cannabis Banking Professional Certification (CBP) focuses on the unique challenges and regulatory considerations for banking cannabis-related businesses.

BankersHub, the leader in financial services education for over 12 years, has launched the banking industry’s first Marijuana Related Business Certification, the Cannabis Banking Professional (CBP) through its Learning Management System, BankerCollege.

The certification will be broken into 11 sessions and focus on the following:

  1. Cannabis Basics for Financial Institutions
  2. Understanding Hemp, Marijuana and CBD Business and Regulations
  3. Key Considerations for Banking Cannabis Businesses
  4. Operational Factors for Developing Framework for Cannabis Banking
  5. Cannabis Banking: Opportunities and Challenges
  6. Hemp Banking 101
  7. Legal Marijuana and the Employee Workplace - What Employers Need to Know
  8. FinCEN Guidance, SARs Filings, Risk Management, Due Diligence Policies and Procedures
  9. BSA Risks of Banking High-Risk Customers
  10. BSA Perspective into Banking Hemp, CBD, and Medical/Recreational Marijuana
  11. Performing Your Risk Assessment on MRBs and HRBs


Each session will test knowledge and retention with a brief quiz. Upon successful completion, attendees will receive a framed certificate of completion good demonstrating proficiency and good for two years. 

Instructor(s)

Esq / Founder finreg PARTNERS Dena Somers

Dena Somers is a highly regarded bank consultant and compliance attorney. She has provided regulatory compliance and risk management consulting services to financial institutions and companies in highly regulated industries nationwide for more than 20 years. Her areas of expertise include consumer and mortgage lending compliance, Fintech and specialty finance, regulatory compliance training, business strategy and best practice advisement, and corporate governance. Throughout her career, Ms. Somers has advised hundreds of banking and financial institutions— ranging from local community banks to $50 billion financial holding companies— to achieve operational efficiency while ensuring regulatory compliance. Previously, Ms. Somers served as General Counsel to a national mortgage servicing company, Fintech lender, national money service business, and has represented financial institutions in a broad array of complex litigation matters for more than 15 years. Additionally, Ms. Somers is a published author for Lexis Nexis in the areas of Bank Teller training, loan policies, and loan documentation training.

Secura Risk Management / Founder Terri Sands

Throughout her career, Terri has served as a leader in the payments and fraud prevention industry, providing education, risk management and compliance consulting and support services geared toward the specific needs of financial organizations. Terri is an Advanced Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, an At-Risk Adult Crime Specialist and an Accredited ACH Professional. Prior to founding Secura, Terri served as co-founder of Payments Information Circle (PIC), a service organization providing payments industry education, auditing, consulting, resources, and support services to financial organizations throughout the country. Prior to her work at PIC, Terri also served as the President of GACHA, a non-profit, regional payments association where she provided strategic direction for financial institutions in the payments industry. Terri began her career in payments as a Senior Analyst with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta where she provided training throughout the Sixth District and served on the Federal Reserve ACH Conversion Team that consolidated ACH Services for all branch locations in the Sixth District.