TAKEOVER speculation drove the shares of FBD nearly 20% up by lunchtime yesterday on rumours Dutch insurance giant Eureko was lining up a bid for the Irish group, founded by farmers to meet their own farm insurance needs.

SHARES in ABN AMRO, the biggest bank in the Netherlands, hit a record high on Monday after what sources said was a merger approach by Barclays for Europe’s biggest financial services deal.

AIB’s strong growth this year disappointed the market yesterday which expected an even better performance from the bank when it unveiled a trading update yesterday.