Wells Fargo offers to meet with Standing Rock Sioux before year-end

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co said it would "be pleased" to meet with tribal elders from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe before year-end to discuss the U.S. bank's investment in the Dakota Access Pipeline, the company told the tribe in a letter dated Thursday.

A Wells Fargo spokesman confirmed the authenticity of the letter, and pictures of the document appeared on Twitter on Friday. In a statement, a spokesman added that the company has met with the Standing Rock tribe several times, most recently in October.

Wells Fargo is one of more than a dozen financial institutions with investments in the pipeline; others include Citigroup Inc and TD Bank. Activists have protested outside bank headquarters and branches in recent months to try to persuade the company to divest its investment in the line.

(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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