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Photo by Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press

Battley claims that Aurora does almost all their banking with BMO now, a trend that appears to be industry-wide. Canopy, along with other smaller producers like CannTrust Holdings, OrganiGram Holdings and Auxly Cannabis Group Inc., also have bank accounts with BMO.

Of the remaining four banks, it is RBC and Scotiabank that appear to be the most conservative when approaching the cannabis sector, according to multiple interviews with cannabis company executives.

“RBC and Scotiabank have always been the two most anti-cannabis. I have heard that RBC is starting to poke around and consider the sector but I would say that Scotiabank appears currently not to be looking at the industry at all,” said Chuck Rifici, one of the former founders of Tweed who currently heads licensed producer Auxly Cannabis.

His sentiment was echoed by Greg Engel, CEO of New Brunswick-based Organigram who believes that although RBC has not officially been involved in the cannabis space, they are looking to increase their involvement “in the not too distant future” by first issuing coverage on the sector.

“I just think all the banks have different cultures and move and different speeds. Desjardins and Laurentian are looking to work in the space, even though historically, there was a hesitancy there,” Engel told the Financial Post.

We're interested in the full range of products and services from them, and to them, it's a question of caution Cam Battley, Aurora chief corporate officer

Recently, Desjardins CEO Guy Cormier said his bank would begin “supporting the needs” of clients who participated in the cannabis industry with lines of credit, mortgages and long-term loans.