The financial giant is the first of a group of 17 banks to divest from the loan that financed the pipeline as the embattled project is set to begin transporting oil.

ING’s divestment from the loan follows a series of efforts to influence the pipeline company, the bank said in a statement. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

The financial giant ING has sold its stake in the $2.5bn loan financing the Dakota Access pipeline, the latest victory for the anti-pipeline divestment campaign that comes as the project is set to begin transporting oil.

The Dutch banking and financial services company is the first of a group of 17 banks to divest from the loan that financed the project. ING’s share in the loan was $120m.

ING’s decision followed a 10 February meeting with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which argued that the pipeline’s route – crossing under the Missouri river just north of the tribe’s reservation – threatened its water source and violated its treaty rights.

“We are heartened that ING has made the conscience decision to remove itself from a project that tramples on the rights of sovereign nations,” the Standing Rock Sioux tribal chairman, Dave Archambault, said in a statement.

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By The Guardian | Julia Carrie Wong | Mar 21, 2017