An ABN Amro update: It's still unclear who will emerge the victor in what would be the largest deal in history, close to $100 million. But Sir Fred Goodwin, CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland, did say that talks between Bank of America and RBS over LaSalle, the Chicago-based unit of ABN Amro, were no longer going on. Apparently, the two sides did not agree on a price, which is not surprising. One could argue that the whole point of RBS's gambit is to establish a larger beachhead in the lucrative U.S. retail market. LaSalle would fit nicely with those plans. Of course, they would fit nicely with Bank of America's as well. So the fate of LaSalle is also unclear. A key court decision is coming in July. This is really dragging on.

For more:
- here's the Financial Times article