The Netherlands biggest bank, ABN Amro, confirmed on Monday evening that it was in exploratory talks with the UK’s Barclays on a possible combination of the two organisations.

‘As part of its continuous strategy to explore value creation for all stakeholders, ABN Amro confirms that it is in exclusive preliminary discussions with Barclays,’ the Dutch bank said in a statement.
‘These discussions are the result of careful consideration to create a highly complementary partnership. The talks are at an early and exploratory stage and there can be no certainty that they will lead to a transaction,’ the statement read.
A number of other banks are also thought to be interested in a link up with ABN Amro, which is under fire from hedge funds for its ‘lacklustre’ performance.