Citizens Bank has announced plans to scale back its financial ties with two private prison firms, CoreCivic and The GEO Group. These companies were government contractors involved in running immigrant detention centers during the Trump administration. This decision comes after mounting public pressure from advocacy groups and progressive local governments.
The bank previously offered banking services to CoreCivic and GEO, which operate private prisons throughout the United States. Under President Trump, both companies were contracted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for managing detention and deportation centers as part of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration.
Intense public criticism regarding these relationships led at least two city councils in New Jersey—Montclair and Jersey City—to vote for pulling funds unless the bank cut its ties with the private prison operators.
“Today’s announcement that Citizens Bank will end its financing relationships with private prison giants CoreCivic and GEO Group is a significant victory for those opposed to allowing major banks to finance the hardships inflicted by the government’s ICE detention operations,” stated the Citizens Bank Coalition to End ICE.
In its statement, Citizens Bank insisted that its decision to sever ties was strictly business-related and not influenced by political pressures. Meanwhile, the federal government is negotiating to acquire several facilities run by CoreCivic, which has led to a decrease in business demand, according to the bank.
“This is a business decision based on changes in the commercial environment and does not reflect any change in our views regarding the business models or operations of these companies,” the bank clarified.
This development is part of a larger trend where banks are reassessing relationships with companies involved in controversial practices, becoming a political topic as well. Under the Trump era, there was scrutiny of banking practices, and regulators could impose penalties on banks engaged in debanking activities.
Citizens Bank remarked, “All banks, including us, need to take these regulatory and contractual frameworks into account when deciding who to bank with and who not to.”
