ABN-Amro, the biggest bank in the Netherlands, has mounted a €1.2 billion friendly bid for Dutch property group Bouwfonds Nederlandse Gemeenten in a move designed to boost its European mortgage and real estate business.

ABN-Amro said the tie-up with Bouwfonds, the Netherlands' biggest project developer and a major mortgage lender, would propel its share of the fast-growing Dutch mortgage market to some 2324 per cent, in line with the two major domestic rivals, ING and unlisted Rabobank.