Breaking: As Wall Street Banks Sever Ties, Prison Companies Stand to Lose Over $1.9B in Future Financing

Via Center for Popular Democracy

This year, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust, BNP Paribas, and Fifth Third Bancorp publicly announced that they would no longer provide any new financing to the private prison industry.

Together these six banks represent an estimated $1.93 billion, or 72% of the total current financing available to private prison companies, CoreCivic and GEO Group. These commitments are landmark victories for the movement to end Wall Street’s financing of the private prison industry. It is the result of years of coordinated action, including the hard work of the coalition of organizations working under the banners of #FamiliesBelongTogether and #BackersOfHate.

This data brief is an update to our April 2019 brief, which identified the banks that provide financing to the nation’s two major private prison companies, CoreCivic and GEO Group, and disclosed how much each company receives from these financial institutions.1 In light of the recent announcements by JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust, BNP Paribas, and Fifth Third Bancorp, this data brief provides original estimates that quantify the impact of this future loss in financing on CoreCivic and GEO Group, offers context on why financing is especially critical for private prison companies, and stresses the need for continued vigilance to ensure these banks’ public commitments match their private business dealings.