WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The bank made its decision to divest its financial ties with Dakota Access following discussions with the tribe, the companies constructing the pipeline, and its own customers, the release stated.
“The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe applauds this decision, which comes on the heels of a similar move by ING, and a series of meetings between banks and tribal leadership,” the release stated on Monday.
In addition, DNB is a signatory to the Equator Principles, which is a set of environmental and social policies that requires its clients to obtain “Free, Prior, and Informed Consent from Indigenous Peoples,” the release added.
Netherlands-based bank ING cut its stream of funding to the controversial $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline according to a release from the tribe on March 21.
Native tribes oppose the nearly 1,200-mile Dakota Access pipeline’s construction, which is on the verge of operating, claiming the pipeline threatened sacred territory and vital drinking water resources.
The pipeline is intended to transport domestically produced light crude oil from the US state of North Dakota through the states of South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois.
