BUSINESS/PRISONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) held its annual meeting in April, activists insisted it stop financing private prison companies. On Wednesday [6-26-19], Bank of America did exactly that, distancing itself from a sector that has triggered protests over its links to the Trump administration’s immigration policy and concerns about detention center conditions. Hector Vaca, one of the activists at the April annual meeting, declared victory. Next, he hopes to get SunTrust Banks Inc (STI.N) to cut ties with private prisons. SunTrust did not respond to a request for comment. In the past, companies usually waited for controversies to lose steam and avoided taking a stance by declining to provide public comments, making changes slowly or not at all. Crisis communications experts say that companies are forced to act more quickly in today’s fast-paced news and social media environment.”
–Melissa Fares, Imani Moise, “When controversies hit, wait-and-see no longer works, U.S. companies find,” Reuters, June 28, 2019 1:42 pm