ABN Amro's investment bank business is becoming a battleground in the fight to buy the Dutch bank as both Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) claim an edge in cost savings and growth plans.
The plans from Barclays and RBS for integrating ABN's wholesale business differ in detail but are broadly the same - they can offer their leading financing and risk management products to new clients and also strip out costs.
Barclays and a consortium led by RBS are fighting to buy ABN in what would be the biggest bank takeover. Attention is fixed on a key Dutch court ruling in the next two weeks on the sale of ABN's US arm, LaSalle Bank, which will swing the outcome.
Whereas ABN is spread across areas, RBS and Barclays respectively rank fifth and sixth in global loans and eighth and fifth in debt business this year, Dealogic data show.
The British banks say this has made them more efficient at translating income into profits.
The main charges against ABN are that it has tried to offer a full range of investment bank services and has been a second-tier player against Wall Street's big hitters, and that it has struggled to improve efficiency for years.