The €58bn bid by Barclays for ABN Amro is ‘too low compared with the offer from the consortium,’ the Dutch bank’s chairman Rijkman Groenink told an informal meeting of shareholders on Thursday.

‘We cannot ask you to make up the difference out of your own pockets,’ Groenink said.
Groenink made the comments as ABN Amro shareholders met to discuss the rival takeover bids.
The consortium, led by Royal Bank of Scotland, is now widely seen as favourite to buy the Dutch bank. It is offering a largely cash deal worth €70bn.
However, Groenink reiterated his opposition to the consortium’s plans to divide ABN Amro up between its three partners. That scenario ‘does not fit in with our growth strategy,’ he was reported as saying by the Financieele Dagblad. ‘You cannot ask us to support an offer that will break up the bank.’