New twist in battle for Dutch bank

The battle to take control of ABN Amro intensified today after the Dutch bank rejected an €18bn bid proposal for its American banking business LaSalle from a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland.

ABN snubbed the $24.5bn (€18bn) offer from RBS and its partners, Belgo-Dutch group Fortis and Spain’s Santander, saying that it did not constitute a “superior offer” to Bank of America’s $21bn (€15.4bn) deal for the bank.