As Barclays Prison Bond Unraveled, ESG Activists Scored Rare Win

The first sign of trouble came last week: A small group of investors circulated a letter lambasting Barclays Plc for helping to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to build two privately owned prisons in Alabama -- two years after the bank publicly vowed to cut financing ties with the for-profit industry.

Before long, the initial marketing efforts for the municipal-bond sale showed signs of sputtering. A socially responsible business group threw the London-based bank out in protest, and students and activists in Alabama began an email campaign to derail the financing.

Together, the outcry turned what was supposed to ...