SunTrust Banks Inc., the lender merging with BB&T Corp., said it won’t provide future financing to companies that manage private prisons and immigration holding facilities. “This decision was made after extensive consideration of the views of our stakeholders on this deeply complex issue,” the Atlanta-based bank said... SunTrust’s decision follows similar moves by Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

... Shares of the two biggest for-profit prison companies, Geo Group Inc. and CoreCivic Inc., have fallen more than 13% since mid-June... “This decision is about caving to political pressure,” Amanda Gilchrist, a spokeswoman for CoreCivic, said in an emailed statement. “These banks have kowtowed to a small group of activists rather than engaging in a constructive dialogue.”... Geo Group said in a statement. The company “has never managed any facilities that house unaccompanied minors, nor have we ever managed border patrol holding facilities.”