Citizens Bank has announced plans to sever its financial ties with two private prison companies that have been operating immigration detention facilities under the Trump administration, following an intense public pressure campaign from activists and left-leaning city governments.
The bank had been providing financial services to CoreCivic and The GEO Group — two companies that own and operate private prisons across the United States. Under President Donald Trump, both companies have been contracted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to run detention and deportation facilities as part of the administration’s broader crackdown on illegal immigration.
The pressure on Citizens Bank grew significantly, with at least two New Jersey city councils — those in Montclair and Jersey City — voting to pull their funds from the bank unless it ended its relationships with the private prison operators.
The De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition responded to the announcement with a statement calling it a meaningful win: “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.”
Despite the public campaign, Citizens Bank maintained in its own statement that the decision was driven by business considerations, not political ones. The bank pointed to the federal government’s plans to purchase several facilities currently run by CoreCivic, and ongoing talks to do the same with GEO, arguing that these developments have reduced the companies’ need for outside financing.
“This is a business decision based on changed commercial circumstances and does not reflect any change in our view regarding these companies’ business models or operations,” the bank stated.
The broader issue of banks cutting off financial services to certain businesses — a practice known as debanking — has become increasingly controversial during Trump’s second term. Federal bank regulators have launched investigations into debanking practices, with the possibility of fines or penalties for institutions found to have engaged in it improperly.
Citizens Bank acknowledged the regulatory environment in its statement, saying: “All banks, including ourselves, must consider these regulatory and contractual frameworks in making decisions on who to bank or not bank.”
