Citizens Bank severs financial ties with private ICE prison corps; yields to GBIO & allies’ pressure and “organized money” campaign
The news today that Citizens Bank will exit its relationship with Core Civic and GEO Group is a victory for GBIO and all those who have demanded that Citizens Bank stop financing ICE prisons. The public outcry from customers, including congregations and other institutions and individuals in Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), Greater Cleveland Congregations, and the De-ICE Coalition, shows that organized people and organized money can make a difference and move powerful institutions to do the right thing.
“Regardless of the rationale, this is the outcome that was needed,” said Rev. Ray Hammond, pastor of Bethel AME Church and former Citizens Board member. “As we have shared previously, our immigrant friends, neighbors and allies deserve to know that community institutions they may have counted on are not directly enabling a system that has brought irreparable harm to neighborhoods across the country.”
“While Citizens Bank is framing this decision as purely business-motivated, we believe the writing has been on the wall for a while now,” said Rev. James Yansen of Hyde Park Seventh-day Adventist Church. “Continued support of CoreCivic and the GEO Group was unwise and costly, both for their bottom line and for their reputation nationally.”
We believe that customers have the right to hold vendors accountable for morally abhorrent practices. The “Not With Our Money, Citizens!” campaign was an attempt to communicate candidly and publicly with a bank that prides itself on community. We are encouraged by their display of a willingness to reevaluate aspects of their business that may no longer serve the best interests of their investors or community partners. We urge Citizens to be clear about the timeline for ending these financial relationships with CoreCivic and GEO and that they do so immediately.
While Citizens Bank maintains that this announcement comes from a business perspective, the mounting pressure from our campaign is undeniable:
In April, GBIO attended Citizens Bank’s annual shareholders meeting, asking direct questions about CoreCivic and GEO. Citizens’ CEO commits to meet with GBIO.
After no date to meet was set weeks later, GBIO withdrew $1 million on May 4th.
Citizens’ CEO refuses to meet with GBIO, calling our actions “false and misleading.”
On June 10th, GBIO withdrew an additional $2 million and published a report with verified complaints against CoreCivic and GEO.
In June, both Greater Cleveland Congregations and De-ICE Coalition joined our “organized money” strategy of customers pledging their deposits to pressure the Bank;
In July, Jersey City, NJ and Montclair, NJ pulled over $350 million from Citizens, adding to mounting national pressure