Banks shun fledgling marijuana firms in Mass.

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Christopher Borde and his partners had $500,000 in cash, the backing of former governor and US Attorney William Weld, and a landlord ready to rent them office space. But, they discovered, the trickiest part of launching their business was getting a bank account.

Borde’s company, MA Care Connect, is a medical marijuana dispensary, and like many others coming into the new market, it is finding that banks want little to do with a business that under federal law is still illegal.

Borde estimated that he tried five banks, including one with which he had a long relationship, but most wanted nothing to do with his money.

“We’re not the Colombian cartel,” said Borde, who helped launch a children’s television station. “It’s a proper business.”

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