Citizens Bank Ends Ties with Private Prison Companies

Citizens Bank has announced intentions to terminate its financial relationship with two private prison companies, CoreCivic and The GEO Group. These companies have been contracted by the Trump administration to manage immigration detention centers. The decision follows significant pressure from advocates and progressive city governments.

Both CoreCivic and The GEO Group own or operate private prisons across the United States. Under President Donald Trump, they were contracted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to run detention and deportation centers as part of the administration’s immigration policies. Public campaigns urged Citizens Bank to sever its connections to these companies, leading to actions such as votes from New Jersey city councils in Montclair and Jersey City to withdraw funds unless ties were broken.

Today’s announcement that Citizens Bank will exit its current lending relationships with private prison giants CoreCivic and The GEO Group is an important victory for the people who refused to let a major bank finance human suffering brought on by ICE detention activities of the current federal administration,

stated the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition. Despite the public pressure, Citizens Bank stated that their decision to end this relationship is based purely on business reasons. The bank noted that the federal government plans to purchase several facilities managed by CoreCivic and is negotiating with GEO, which has reduced the companies’ financial requirements.

Citizens Bank framed their decision as a response to altered commercial conditions rather than a shift in their perspective on the companies’ operations.

Debanking, or the practice of banks cutting ties with specific businesses or individuals, has become a politically sensitive issue during Trump’s second term. Investigations by bank regulators into these practices have placed additional scrutiny on banks’ decision-making processes.

Citizens Bank acknowledged the need to consider regulatory and contractual frameworks when determining banking relationships, emphasizing that all banks face similar obligations.