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Feds block push by Colorado to create pot bank.

DENVER (AP) — Colorado's attempt to create a bank to service its marijuana industry has suffered another setback by the federal government and could be facing an impossible dilemma.

The Federal Reserve — the guardian of the U.S. banking system — said in a court filing Wednesday that it doesn't intend to accept a penny connected to the sale of pot because the drug remains illegal under federal law.

The stance appears to mark a shift in the position of the federal government. Last year, the U.S. Treasury Department issued rules for how banks can accept pot money.

The filing came in a legal battle between the Federal Reserve and the would-be Fourth Corner Credit Union, which was set up last year to serve Colorado's $700 million-a-year marijuana industry.

The credit union can't open without clearance from the Federal Reserve, which said in its filing that "transporting or transmitting funds known to have derived from the distribution of marijuana is illegal."

Colorado chartered the Fourth Corner Credit Union after the Treasury Department issued its guidance last year on marijuana banking. Fourth Corner was designed to give the industry in Colorado a safe place to bank while paying steep fees to account for all the hoops set up by the Treasury Department.

The credit union then needed permission from the Federal Reserve to access the national banking system and perform electronic transactions. No dice.

The credit union now wants a federal judge to step in and order the Federal Reserve to change its mind.