Citizens Bank Ends Financing for CoreCivic and GEO Group After Activist Pressure

Citizens Bank, headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, disclosed that it will cease all financing for CoreCivic and the GEO Group, two private-prison companies that contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The move follows a sustained campaign by the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition, which staged protests outside the bank’s headquarters during its annual shareholders’ meeting in April. Although the bank claimed the decision was driven solely by “changed commercial circumstances” and unrelated to activism, the coalition celebrated the withdrawal as evidence that community resistance can influence corporate behavior.

The bank emphasized that its view of the companies’ business models remains unchanged and declined to comment on individual clients. The coalition warned that customers may continue to reassess their relationships with the bank until all concerns are addressed. All major U.S. banks have already ended ties with the two prison operators.