Royal Bank of Scotland today confirmed it was in talks to sell ABN Amro’s Australian and New Zealand operations.

A New York-based activist investor has called on Barclays to drop its takeover of Dutch rival ABN Amro, it emerged today.

Royal Bank of Scotland today said earnings in the first half of the year were rising “slightly” higher than expected in a sign that it is business as usual for the group despite its tense takeover battle for Dutch rival ABN Amro.

Royal Bank of Scotland’s plans to snap up ABN Amro could be scuppered after the Dutch central bank today warned such a deal would be risky and complicated.

Prosecutors have notified the embattled governor of the Bank of Italy that he is under investigation for his role in a takeover battle between two banks, and that they plan to question him, his lawyer said yesterday.