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Citizens Financial Group &
ICE Detention Financing

What private banking and wealth clients should know about
Citizens Bank's relationships with The GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Citizens Private Bank is growing. It is opening new locations opening across California, in addition to existing offices in Boston, New York, Los Angeles (Beverly Hills & Manhattan Beach), Marin County (Mill Valley), Menlo Park, Orange County (Newport Beach), San Diego (Del Mar), San Francisco (Financial District and Laurel Village), Palm Beach, and West Palm Beach.

There are several factors to consider as you look at options for beginning a new wealth management or private banking relationship. One of them is financial institutions' impact on the wider community. Citizens Private Bank is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group — a company with deep ties to private prison companies that are profiting from ICE detention.

Here's what you need to know.

Key Findings

  • Since 2012, Citizens Financial Group has participated in multiple financing arrangements with two of the largest private prison operators and ICE detention contractors, The GEO Group (GEO) and CoreCivic, through syndicated lending, underwriting, and administrative agent roles. See a timeline of their involvement here.
     

  • Citizens played a key role in facilitating credit agreement amendments in 2025 and 2026 that expanded revolving credit access and liquidity for GEO, providing additional capital flexibility for detention facility operations and expansion.
    (Source: GEO SEC filings, July 2025 and January 2026 )
     

  • Multiple major U.S. banks publicly exited private prison financing beginning in 2019, citing reputational and ESG risk concerns. Citizens took on a more active role in financing in the sector. 
    (Source: Forbes )
     

  • GEO and CoreCivic operate detention facilities under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and have faced repeated lawsuits, regulatory scrutiny, and serious allegations related to the conditions in their facilities. Learn more.
     

  • CoreCivic and GEO Group have faced significant legal and financial exposure in recent years, including securities class action settlements totaling more than $56 million, tens of millions in state contract penalties against CoreCivic in Tennessee, and a court-upheld $23 million judgment against GEO Group for unlawful labor practices at an ICE detention facility.

The Bottom Line

With so many options for wealth management and private banking services, you don't have to compromise your values.
If you're avoiding giving your business to companies that have chosen to profit from the mass deportation effort hurting our communities, avoid Citizens Private Bank.

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