Financial services technology company FinClear’s acquisition of Pershing Australia from Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) has been welcomed by cannabis stocks as it will allow the trading of cannabis securities on the ASX with immediate effect.
In 2019, BNYM’s cannabis securities policy prohibited clients (including a large number of Australian brokers) dealing in listed cannabis-related businesses mainly due to the illegal status of cannabis federally in the US. Those impacted included AusCann, Cann Group, CannPal, Creso Pharma, MGC Pharmaceuticals and MMJ Group.
The decision by BNYM to offload local execution and settlements business Pershing Australia means the ban is now lifted. The Zelira Therapeutics board told Stockhead it “restores the ability for a large proportion of Australian brokers and investors to invest in the company”.