ABN Amro has agreed to open its books to a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland, the biggest Dutch bank said in a statement last night. The consortium, which also includes Fortis and Santander, has made a preliminary bid of €72bn for ABN Amro, depending on the outcome of the due diligence survey.

Earlier this week, Barclays came out with an offer valuing ABN Amro at €67bn.
ABN Amro shareholders hold their annual general meeting today, at which the takeover battle is set to take centre stage.
More to follow