Royal Bank of Scotland and its partners in the battle for ABN Amro said today they expected to launch their offer for the Dutch bank in mid-July.

A New York-based activist investor has called on British bank Barclays to drop its takeover of Dutch rival ABN Amro.

British banking giant Barclays said today it was determined to see through its merger plans with Dutch rival ABN Amro, despite moves from a Royal Bank of Scotland led consortium to scupper the deal with a possible £49bn (€71.7bn) counterbid.

More than 23,000 banking jobs are under threat after Barclays announced details of its proposed £45bn (€66.36bn) takeover of Dutch counterpart ABN Amro.

Barclays and Dutch group ABN Amro said today they had agreed to merge in a deal set to create the world’s fifth largest banking group.