ABN Turns Down RBS Spoiler Offer

Court rules ABN Amro can't sell LaSalle, which jeopardizes Barclay merger

(NEWSER) - A Dutch court has blocked the sale of ABN Amro's LaSalle Bank, throwing Amro's proposed merger with Barclays into jeopardy. The move—which the court says is intended to protect shareholder interests—could spark a new bidding war over the Dutch bank, whose $87.5 billion proposed merger with Barclays has been slammed by shareholders as a lowball deal. More»

Royal Bank of Scotland consortium expected to succeed with hostile bid

(NEWSER) - The race to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro is in the final stage—with a consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland apparently on the inside track ahead of Barclays. The consortium has already won agreement from ABN and the Dutch government, but has yet to raise the $99 billion it needs for the purchase, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

$96B offer dwarfs Barclays proposal, but legal woes persist

(NEWSER) - Refusing to take no for an answer, a coalition led by Royal Bank of Scotland today submitted a renewed $95.6 billion bid for ABN Amro. The offer overshadows a competing $86 billion offer from Barclays, but legal wrangling over the sale of LaSalle Bank continues to bog down the RBS group's proposal, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Well, after being mistaken for a robber and having his head kicked by police...

(NEWSER) - It's not every day that you walk into a bank planning to cash a $100 check—and ultimately find yourself $3.3 million richer. That's what happened to Rodolfo Valladares, just not quite that smoothly. Valladares, sporting a Miami Heat hat, walked into a Florida Bank of America in July 2008 to cash said check. A teller mistakenly identified him as a robber who had been hitting area banks—in a Heat cap. She set off the silent alarm, and things went south for Valladares, who was handcuffed by police and kicked in the head, reports the Miami Herald . More»

(NEWSER) - American banks will pull in $38.5 billion in overdraft fees this year, a record sum that's largely coming from pockets of the poorest and most indebted consumers. According to the Financial Times, banks hiked fees on overdrafts and credit cards as the financial crisis took hold; this year's take will be double that reported in 2000. Some 90% of overdraft revenues come from just 10% of checking account holders, many of whom have low credit scores. More»