SunTrust Bank Cuts Ties With Private Prison Industry

SunTrust Bank announced Monday that it will stop providing funds to private prisons. “This decision was made after extensive consideration of the views of our stakeholders on this deeply complex issue,” the bank told Bloomberg in a statement. This comes after Bank of America announced last month that it would stop supporting the private prison industry, reportedly after officials toured a detention facility for unaccompanied migrant teenagers. Other banks—including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase—also severed ties with the industry earlier this year. A spokeswoman for CoreCivic, a private prison company, claimed SunTrust’s decision was “about caving to political pressure.” “These banks have kowtowed to a small group of activists rather than engaging in a constructive dialogue,” the spokeswoman said.