Barclays defends deal with ABN Amro amid protests

It's still unclear how all this will shake out. In the face of shareholder outrage, Barclays remains convinced that its bid is superior to the one offered by a consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Barclays CEO John Varley told reporters in London that there is a "stark contrast" between the two bids. Barclays plans to build, while the other side intends to disaggregate. Well, that makes nice rhetoric, but Varley also noted that he had been informed by executives at ABN Amro that the target bank will open up its books to the RBS group for due diligence purposes. The RBS group has asked for the target to get rid of a standstill agreement. It's premature to say Barclays has the upper hand in this near $100 billion battle, despite its agreement. Especially when ABN Amro shareholders seem so skeptical.

For more:
- here's an AP update