Citizens Bank pushes back as NJ officials claim victory over Delaney Hall lender
🏦 Citizens Bank says its decision to end its relationship with GEO Group was based on business, not politics.
➡️ New Jersey officials and activists had claimed the move was a victory after months of pressure.
⚖️ The bank said denying services based on political views could violate federal banking rules.
NEWARK — Citizens Bank says New Jersey officials and anti-ICE activists are wrongly portraying its decision to cut ties with the company operating Newark's Delaney Hall detention center as a political victory.
On Friday, Citizens Bank announced that it would no longer have a financial relationship with GEO Group. The company operates several private prisons, including the ICE detention center in Newark.
According to Citizens Bank, the decision is financial, not ideological. The bank said the federal government has indicated it will purchase several GEO-owned facilities, reducing the company's need for financing.
New Jersey 101.5 has reached out to GEO for comment.
New Jersey officials celebrated the decision
Last week, the Montclair town council voted to pull more than $91 million in investments from Citizens Bank over its relationship with GEO. Township Manager Stephen Marks told Montclair Local that the township has already received an offer of a better interest rate from a different bank.
In June, Jersey City announced that it divested from Citizens Bank for the same reasons. Mayor James Solomon said that the bank had chosen to finance caging human beings for profit.
"As long as institutions continue to bankroll the private prison industry and the suffering it depends on, we will use every tool at our disposal to ensure Jersey City taxpayers are not financing the abuse of our neighbor," Solomon said.
On Monday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the city closed two accounts worth less than $700 with the bank that had been dormant for years. He also accused Citizens Bank of supporting an operation that terrorizes Newark residents and their neighbors but then applauded the bank.
“We are happy that Citizens Bank has decided to cut ties with The GEO Group," Baraka said.
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Bank says activists misunderstood the reason for the move
Citizens' decision followed months of public pressure to stop lending to the private corrections company. That included anti-ICE activists who demanded a boycott of Citizens Bank, which said it was disappointed that the activists had "dragged" it into a political fight.
"The activists have not recognized that it is against bank regulation to deny banking services to individuals and to lawful businesses based on political or religious considerations, a practice referred to as 'debanking,'" Citizens Bank said in a statement.
Last year, President Trump signed an executive order directing banks to make lending decisions based on objective business factors instead of beliefs, affiliations, or political views.
A December report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found that nine large bank had made "inappropriate distinctions" in debanking certain customers. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said each bank would be held accountable.
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