Citizens Fails Many US Residents
Dear Leading Ladies,
Citizens Bank. Even the name sounds like it might be an institution for the people.
Check out their website and you will find more promises and lofty aspirations.
“A culture that embraces curiosity.”
“Committed to making an impact.”
“...dedicated to fostering strong communities, driving positive environmental impact and building the workforce of the future.”
Why, then, is Citizens, based in Rhode Island with branches throughout New England and into the Midwest, the target of protests and calls for people to take their banking business elsewhere?
Well, it turns out that, despite its claims of being there for the people, Citizens has allegedly financed the construction of for-profit prisons and immigration detention centers, including those built by the largest companies in the business, CoreCivic and the Geo Group. According to the De‑ICE Citizens Bank Coalition, “Citizens Bank has provided loans, underwritten bonds and extended credit to CoreCivic and The GEO Group for more than a decade, including financing that was approved this year.”
What’s the matter with for-profit prisons? “Federal investigators,” according to the Equal Justice Initiative, “have found that private prisons fail to provide sufficient rehabilitative services, maintain adequate security, or save taxpayers money—and they reported higher rates of assault, more uses of force, and more contraband in private prison than in government facilities.” As an example, BoycottCitizens.org reports that “The homicide rate at Tennessee prisons run by CoreCivic is more than twice the rate at state-run facilities.”
And matters have only gotten worse. The incarceration of young children, separated from their parents, with inadequate food, medical care, and even bedding, is the rule rather than the exception in the immigrant detention centers, as widely reported in the media.
Of course, Citizens is not alone. Some other smaller and regional banks are also still supporting the for-profit prisons, notably Regions, Synovus, and PinnacleBank.
However, several large banks, pressured by public outcry from social justice groups and corporate responsibility organizations, have acted more responsibly. According to Green America, in 2019, banks such as “Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, BNP Paribas, Fifth Third Bancorp, Barclays, and U.S. Bancorp, announced “that they will no longer issue loans to the two largest private prison operators, CoreCivic and GEO Group.” That announcement ended the banks’ complicity “in the human crises that continue to unfold in private prisons,” according to Green America. “That these banks will no longer be issuing new loans or lines of credit to private prison companies is a huge win for activists and organizations that have been pushing for banks to take accountability.”
The Brown Daily Herald
At that time, in 2019, more than 90 percent of the average 30,000 people held daily in ICE detention were housed in private facilities, as private corporation revenues from immigrant detention soared.
Just four years later, The American Civil LIberties Union determined that, “Three years into the Biden administration, the number of people held in ICE detention continues to grow, and private prison companies hold an increasingly tight grip on the mass immigration detention system.” The ACLU explained that “the federal government’s immigration detention system overwhelmingly relies on private prison corporations. Private prison corporations, like the GEO Group, CoreCivic, LaSalle Corrections, and the Management Training Corporation have pocketed billions from ICE detention contracts in the past two decades.”
Clearly, the exit of the big banks didn’t solve the problem. Even closing down Citizens Banks’ participation in funding private prisons won’t, especially as the government plans to expand its efforts. BoycottCitizens.org quotes NBC News as saying that “Administration officials have called for an expansion of detention beds to at least 100,000—a more than doubling of capacity.”
Peyton Fleming, spokesperson for the De‑ICE Citizens Bank Coalition, told the Providence Business Network, “Citizens Bank continues to bankroll companies that are cashing in on the explosion of immigrant arrests and incarcerations across the country. While other banks have ended their relationships with prison companies, Citizens is doing the opposite.”
Still, if we can have some effect on the number of for-profit versus state-run prisons and detainment centers, we may bring some humanity to those who deserve it.
What can do do?
Move our money. If we have an account with Citizens Bank, close it and move to a bank that does not support for-profit prisons. Be sure to tell the bank why we are leaving, name the bank we are going to, and cite the reason for our move.
Protest at a Citizens Bank near you. Find one here.
As always, spread the word. Banking is a competitive business. Banks work hard to keep, not lose, customers.
Let’s exercise the power we still have.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team