Good news! We just heard from our friends at Enlace that Wells Fargo has rid itself of most of its holdings in the private prison company Geo Group. Wells Fargo has long been criticized for its support of the private prison industry, both through its direct investments and by providing other financial support to the corporations.

It's still clear that much work is still to be done -- they still hold over 3 million shares of Geo Group's stock. But this is a step in the right direction and shows that the big banks and other major private prison investors will respond to public pressure to divest.

Here's the full release:

WELLS FARGO DUMPS PRIVATE PRISON STOCK

In a major boost to the efforts to the National Private Prison Divestment Campaign, its partners and allies, new SEC filings reveal that, as of September 30, 2012, Wells Fargo and Company and its subsidiaries divested nearly 75% of its aggregate holdings in the Geo Group, the nation’s second largest private prison company.

According to an SEC filing recently made public, Wells Fargo and Company and its subsidiaries had aggregate holdings of 3,061,851 shares, or 4.98% of Geo Group’s common stock as of September 30, down from the 9,185,823 shares or 19.56% of Geo Group’s common stock reported as in the December 31, 2011 SEC filing of the same required report. (Wells Fargo and Geo Group SEC filings can be found under the SEC tab at http://wfdetentions.wordpress.com/lobbyist/)

According to its current annual report, Geo Group, the nation’s second largest private prison company, depends on the incarceration of immigrants to meet its revenue goals.  The company is a major contributor to federal political campaigns and lobbying efforts impacting budgets of the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice.

Enlace Executive Director, Peter Cervantes-Gautschi, congratulated Wells Fargo on its well advised decision to dump the private prison stock and called on the financial industry giant to rid itself of the rest of its private prison holdings and to cease financing private prison companies’ efforts to build, fill and manage immigrant detention centers and other private prisons.

Thanks to davidneubert.com for the use of the Wells Fargo photo.