RBS trumps Barclays' bid for ABN Amro

A group of banks led by the Royal Bank of Scotland today offered over $98 billion for ABN Amro, trumping the $90 billion offer by London-based Barclays PLC announced earlier in the week, according to published reports. In addition to RBS, the rival consortium vying for the Amsterdam-based financial services group also included Brussels, Belgium-based Fortis and Banco Santander Central Hispano SA of Spain. The new bid, however, is contingent on ABN keeping its Chicago-based LaSalle Bank unit, which ABN has already agreed to sell to Bank of America for $21 billion, according to reports. A merger between the Dutch bank and Barclays would create one of the world’s largest banking institutions, according to The New York Times, whereas a deal with the Royal Bank of Scotland group is expected to result in ABN Amro broken up into separate entities.