ING has stopped financing a new coal-fired power plant in the Dominican Republic, the bank informed the Dutch Fair Bank Guide today. The Fair Bank Guide welcomes ING's decision. The Fair Bank Guide, in collaboration with BankTrack and Greenpeace, has been calling ING for years to stop financing two new coal-fired plants, Punta Catalina and Cirebon in Indonesia. ING sold its stake in the Punta Catalina coal-fired power plant on 13 July. With this decision, the bank wants to give further substance to the tightening of its coal policy in December…

Commercial banks that were lining up to join a $1.5 billion syndicated loan for the palm oil giant Wilmar International are apparently reconsidering the deal due to concerns about land grabbing and other human rights abuses connected to the company’s investments in Liberia. Communities affected by the Maryland Oil Palm Plantation in southern Liberia have called on banks to refrain from joining the loan unless Wilmar commits to remedial action to address their grievances. The plantation is operated by the Ivorian firm SIFCA, which Wilmar owns…

The lawsuit filed against BankTrack by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, has been dismissed by a North Dakota District Court. The judge ruled that Energy Transfer had failed to state a plausible Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) claim against BankTrack, and that without that, the court has no jurisdiction over BankTrack for the additional non-federal claims.  The judge’s dismissal can be downloaded here. The judgement reaches far beyond a narrow focus on BankTrack's…