ING Groep (NYSE:ING) will sell its stake in Capital One (NYSE:COF) for about $3 billion.

The Dutch banking giant acquired the 9% stake in Capital One in February as part of its $9 billion sale of ING Direct USA to the U.S. bank. The purchase of ING Direct vaulted Capital One past rivals TD Bank (NYSE:TD) and PNC (NYSE:PNC) to become the fifth largest bank in the U.S. with more than $200 billion in deposits, the New York Times noted.

In addition to cash payments, ING received $2.8 billion in Capital One shares under the purchase agreement. It says that it will realize a profit of $378 million once its sells its 54 million Capital One shares.

Shares of ING Group rose almost 2% in Wednesday morning trading in New York, while Capital One shares dipped by about 1%.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) will serve as bookrunners in the sale of the Capital One shares, which is expected to close next week.

ING is looking to boost its Tier 1 ratio to 11.9%. The Dutch group has been under pressure from European regulators to increase its reserves against potential financial turmoil. The bank received $12.5 billion in support from the Dutch government in 2008.

In order to bolster its reserves, and limited exposure, ING has sold a number of assets, including its online banking operations in the U.S. and Canada and its insurance unit in Asia.