ABN AMRO

Royal Bank of Scotland beat expectations with a return to profit in the first quarter as bad debts continued to shrink, even as investment banking earnings more than halved from its strong start to last year.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc faced rising regulatory and legal pressure on Monday as allegations that the bank duped clients fueled momentum for regulatory reform on both sides of the Atlantic.

Goldman Sachs may face legal action from German bank IKB and could be pursued by regulators in Germany and Britain after the U.S. investment bank was accused of duping clients.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc saw pressure building on both sides of the Atlantic on Sunday, just two days after it was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Germany and Britain will seek details from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about the activities of Goldman Sachs Group Inc as a prelude to potential legal steps following a U.S.-led fraud investigation.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Sunday he wanted Britain's financial watchdog to investigate U.S. bank Goldman Sachs after it was charged with fraud by U.S. regulators.

Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks with a potential buyer for its Colombian operations, as it pushes ahead with plans to refocus on core businesses.

Three Saudi banks posted fourth-quarter earnings below forecasts, hit by a slowdown in lending growth and higher provisions, with Saudi Hollandi Bank making its first quarterly loss in two years.

Dutch state-owned bank ABN AMRO [ABNNV.UL] will transfer some corporate client operations to Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) to pave the way for ABN's merger with Fortis Bank Nederland, ABN AMRO said on Wednesday.

A surprise $536 million settlement by Credit Suisse to a U.S. probe over financial dealings with Iran should only do short-term damage to the Swiss bank, but others could now be in the line of fire.

The dollar steadied on Tuesday and Asian stocks wavered, despite improving appetite for riskier assets, as investors turned cautious ahead of a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Asian stocks eased on Monday as the dollar hovered near six-week highs on views the Federal Reserve might raise rates sooner than expected, putting pressure on oil and commodity prices.

ABN AMRO, Goldman Sachs and World Online misled investors during the 2000 initial public offering of the Dutch Internet provider, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

Royal Bank of Scotland is considering a plan which could result in the sale of just over 10 percent of its British branches in a move to ease EU concerns over state aid, a source familiar with the matter said.

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The Netherlands is looking into options to sell Fortis Bank Nederland assets to French bank BNP Paribas as part of a merger remedy ordered by the European Commission, a source said on Tuesday.

An experimental AIDS vaccine made from two older versions has made major progress in finding an effective way to combat the illness, researchers said on Thursday.

BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, is close to selling its stake in ABN AMRO TEDA Fund Management Co in China, in a step toward complying with Chinese mutual fund regulations.

France's BNP Paribas and Belgian insurer Fortis will take a majority stake in the non-life insurance unit of Italy's UBI Banca, the buyers announced on Thursday.

Deutsche Bank has backed out of talks to buy a package of assets from nationalised bank ABN AMRO under a deal mandated by the European Commission, the Dutch finance ministry said on Thursday.

The Dutch state has asked the European Commission (EC) for more time to reach agreement over the sale of some ABN AMRO [ABNNV.UL] assets to Deutsche Bank, the Dutch Finance Ministry said on Saturday.