Bank of America (BofA) yesterday filed a suit in New York against ABN Amro, alleging that the Dutch bank violated the terms of its agreement to sell its Chicago-based LaSalle unit to BofA for $21 billion (€15.44 billion).

BofA demanded that ABN be barred from negotiating to sell LaSalle to a third party and be ordered to sell it to BofA under terms of the initial agreement.

The complaint does not specify potential monetary damages and says if BofA fails to acquire LaSalle, the "resulting injury . . . is not compensable in money damages". However, the complaint also says BofA stands to sustain billions of dollars of losses in the dispute over LaSalle and asks for money damages to be awarded at trial.

BofA said that in its agreement to sell LaSalle, ABN gave assurances that it had the authority to transfer the asset without a shareholder vote. However, a commercial court in Amsterdam on Thursday blocked the LaSalle sale, saying it must be put to a vote of ABN shareholders.

The ruling was a victory for shareholders who had challenged the sale because it undermined a bid for ABN Amro by a trio of European banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

ABN already has an agreed bid to sell itself to Barclays of the UK, but that deal is contingent on the transfer of LaSalle to BofA. The trio led by RBS wants to buy all of ABN and split in into parts.

In the lawsuit, BofA said it "has suffered substantial harm as a result of ABN Bank's breaches of its representations and warranties".

- (Financial Times service)