BOYCOTT
TOOLKIT

Citizens Financial Group (CFG) is the parent company of Citizens Bank. Through Citizens Bank and other subsidiaries, CFG has been a lender to CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) since at least 2012. According to SEC filings, CFG has also been a lender to GEO Group since at least 2024.

CFG and its subsidiaries have played a variety of roles in helping CoreCivic and The GEO Group access capital. While not all involvement is publicly disclosed in SEC filings, the following are some of the roles CFG has played in recent years:

• Administrative Agent — GEO (2024), CoreCivic (2020) Leads the bank syndicate: tracks compliance, invoices interest, coordinates lender votes, and distributes payments from the borrower.

• Swingline Lender — GEO (2024) Provides short-term bridge loans of up to $30 million to ensure GEO Group has immediate access to cash.

• First-Lien Agent & Authorized Representative — GEO (2024) Represents first-lien creditors if collateral must be seized or liquidated following a default.

• Joint Lead Arranger & Joint Bookrunner — GEO (2024), CoreCivic (2018) Structures financing arrangements, underwrites initial commitments, and markets portions of the loan to other banks.

• Syndicated Lender — CoreCivic (2018) Provided $96 million in revolving credit and a $24 million term loan.

• Representative of Underwriters — CoreCivic (2024) Purchased new bonds, sold them to investors, set pricing, prepared the prospectus, and allocated bonds—earning underwriting fees in lieu of interest.
  

While the extent of Citizens’ current exposure to CoreCivic’s and GEO’s debt is not publicly known, it is clear that the company has played a critical role in enabling both private prison operators to access the capital necessary to continue operating facilities across the country.

Citizens Financial Group isn’t the only bank financing CoreCivic and The GEO Group, but it remains a key partner among a shrinking group of financial institutions that have yet to cut ties with the private prison industry.

While this campaign focuses on Citizens Bank, we are also sharing information about other banks involved in financing CoreCivic and GEO. Our goal is to help people make informed choices about where they keep their money, and to make clear to the industry’s remaining financial backers that we are watching them, too.

In recent years, the following institutions have been named in credit and underwriting deals with CoreCivic and GEO. We have found no public evidence that any of them have since committed to cutting ties with these companies or with the private prison industry more broadly:

• Regions Bank (Regions Financial Corp)

• First Horizon (FHN Financial)

• Texas Capital Bank (TCBI Securities, Inc.)

• Synovus (Synovus Securities)

• StoneX (StoneX Financial)

• Alter Domus

• Wedbush (Wedbush Securities)

• Ankura Trust Company

Yes. It won’t happen overnight, but a boycott can have real impact, even against corporations as large as Citizens Financial Group, CoreCivic, and The GEO Group. Here's why:

Banks care deeply about reputation. They need public trust to attract customers, clients, investors, and employees. That means sustained public pressure, even from a relatively small group of people, can make a company rethink its choices.

A boycott doesn’t have to bankrupt a business to work. What matters is increasing the political, social, and reputational cost of continuing to finance private prisons. When executives start to feel that cost—in the form of bad press, lawmaker attention, employee discomfort, or customer loss—they’re more likely to make a change.

We’ve seen it work before. In 2019, nine major banks committed to ending their relationships with CoreCivic and GEO after sustained pressure from advocates, organizers, and everyday people who spoke out and took action.

This campaign won’t shut CoreCivic and GEO down on its own. But it can slow them down, drive up their borrowing costs, and send a message to other potential lenders that doing business with them comes with consequences. That matters, especially at a moment when these companies are planning to dramatically increase their detention capacity.

Between March and August 2019, nine major banks pledged to stop lending to CoreCivic and GEO in response to intense public pressure. The first was JPMorgan Chase, followed by Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust, BNP Paribas, Fifth Third, PNC, Barclays*, and U.S. Bank.

These institutions likely chose to cut ties due to a combination of factors: grassroots activism (street protests, sit-ins, petitions, etc.), congressional scrutiny and televised hearings, reputational risk, and mounting legal challenges such as state-level private prison bans and lawsuits due to the conditions and treatment people experienced at facilities.

*While Barclays committed to stop financing private prisons in 2019, it decided to act as the lead underwriter for a municipal bond for two prisons owned by CoreCivic in 2021. Barclays pulled out of the deal at the last minute, after more than 30 activist investors signed a letter condemning it.

We cannot say for sure why Citizens has chosen to continue these relationships, but Citizens' role in financing the companies has grown since 2019, as activists pressured large Wall Street banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America to stop financing them.

Citizens Financial Group’s Head of Corporate Communications, Peter Lucht, has responded to inquiries about the company’s continued involvement with CoreCivic and The GEO Group with the following statement:

“We do not discuss specific client relationships or industry exposures. We maintain a commitment to lending to companies that conduct their business in a socially responsible manner; if that is not the case, we are prepared to exit those relationships.”

As Citizens Bank shifts its focus toward digital services, it has already closed more than one in ten of its branches since 2022. While further closures may be on the horizon, our goal is policy change, not job loss. #BoycottCitizens aims to persuade executives at Citizens Financial Group to align their business practices with their stated commitment to strengthening communities, including the very communities where their branch employees live and work.

Yes, there are plenty of other potential lenders out there. Reducing their pool of willing lenders won’t immediately put CoreCivic and The GEO Group out of business—but it will make it harder, and likely more expensive, for them to borrow money.

In fact, both companies acknowledge this risk in the 'Risk Factors' sections of their 2024 annual reports. CoreCivic cites “risks and uncertainties associated with the availability of debt and equity financing on terms that are favorable to us or at all.” GEO warns:

“If other financial institutions or third parties that currently provide us with financing or that we do business with decide in the future to cease providing us with financing or doing business with us, such determinations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

So while this campaign won't shut them down outright, it can increase their costs during a crucial period of planned expansion and discourage other banks from financing them.

We all deserve to be safe in our own communities. CoreCivic and The GEO Group market themselves as companies that protect the public from dangerous individuals. The reality of their business is very different. Here are a few reasons why:

• They profit from imprisoning tens of thousands of innocent people each year. As of May 18, 2025, ICE detention facilities were holding more than 21,000 people—43% of all detainees—who had no criminal record whatsoever. Many others were held for minor violations like traffic offenses. A significant number of those detained are long-time members of our communities with deep local ties.
  

• Private prisons are linked to higher rates of recidivism. Unlike public facilities, private prisons are incentivized to maximize profits, not rehabilitation. This often leads to cuts in programming, poor conditions, and inadequate support. According to In the Public Interest, private facilities have a “history of neglecting prisoners’ basic needs and failing to create an environment conducive to rehabilitation,” contributing to higher rates of reoffending.

• They routinely fail to keep people safe—and often directly cause harm. CoreCivic and GEO have faced numerous allegations and lawsuits involving human rights abuses, forced labor, medical neglect, wrongful deaths, sexual assault, failure to protect staff and detainees, chronic understaffing, and billing taxpayers for unfilled “ghost” positions.
  

These are not the actions of companies focused on public safety. They are the actions of corporations prioritizing profit at the expense of human dignity, justice, and community well-being.

We don’t need to reach everyone—we need to reach the right people, in the right ways. Here’s what works:

• Local, in-person outreach. Protests, flyering, and sidewalk conversations near Citizens branches help connect the issue to a place people know and trust. The goal isn’t confrontation; it’s visibility.
  

• Social media that’s personal and specific. A post about why you closed your account will be more powerful than a general statement. Photos of signs, flyers, or account closures remind others that they can take action too. Use #BoycottCitizens and tag local media and elected officials when possible.

• Community-based sharing. Focus early efforts on people who share a commitment to standing for the dignity of all our neighbors. Faith groups, unions, mutual aid networks, and neighborhood events are great places to circulate flyers. People are more likely to act when they hear about it from someone they know.
  

• Local press and letters to the editor. Media mentions are one of the best ways to reach company leaders and they show this isn’t just noise online; it’s real people raising concerns in the communities where Citizens does business.

• Reaching employees and investors. Discrete, respectful outreach to employees (via flyers, anonymous tips) can create internal pressure. Shareholder activism was a key component of the pressure campaign on JPMorgan Chase in 2019, and can be extremely effective.
  

• Reach out to organizations with ties to Citizens or its executives. Citizens sponsors many community events, nonprofits, and local venues. Several of its executives also have prominent roles or affiliations at universities and civic institutions. These groups may not know who Citizens is financing. A thoughtful, well-documented outreach effort can prompt them to ask hard questions —or even reconsider the partnership.

The most important thing you can do is to make it easy for others to get involved. Clear flyers, short scripts, ready-to-share posts, branch locators—small things can lower barriers to action and grow the campaign. We've included some of those things here and are happy to help with special requests if we're able. Send any requests to info@boycottcitizens.org.

No, we don't accept donations. If you would like to support this work, we recommend donating to one of the many established organizations whose important work we relied on for information and inspiration. These include investigative reporting outlets like ProPublica and The Intercept, public media, local news outlets, legal advocates like the ACLU, and policy and advocacy institutes like the Migration Policy Institute, the Prison Policy Initiative, and Detention Watch. We also highly recommend supporting the organizations focused on rapid response and providing direct services to immigrant communities in your area.