Rival banks turn up heat on ABN deal

Plans for an £89bn (€131bn) merger of British bank Barclays and ABN Amro came under more pressure today after the Dutch bank’s shares surged on hopes of a rival offer.

The prospect of a potential counter-bid from the trio of Royal Bank of Scotland, Belgium-based Fortis and Spain’s Santander lifted ABN’s shares by more than 6% to €35.84.