NETHERLANDS - ABN Amro, which has agreed to a £90bn merger with Barclays Bank, has come under fire from a small group of rebel institutional investor over the sale of its US subsidiary.

Dutch shareholder rights group VEB, which led last night's attack at the annual shareholder meeting in Amsterdam, argued that the sale of LaSalle to the Bank of America for US$21bn (£10,5bn), requires the approval of shareholders.

VEB head, Peter de Vries, who reportedly at one point climbed on stage to demand answers after not getting the chance to speak, said: "The sale of LaSalle is a major transaction and therefore requires the approval of shareholders."

Dutch media reported today that Dutch pension fund giants ABP, PGGM, pension servicing company Mn Services, alongside Rabobank's asset management arm Robeco, supported the protest.

"We don't have anything against the Barclays bid, but we want to map all bids," an Mn Services representative was reported as saying. He added: "The LaSalle sale frustrates this."

Activist hedge fund, TCI has also piled pressure on the board to consider the indicative £49bn (€72bn) rival bid by Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Santander.

The VEB announced today that it has submitted a petition to the Dutch enterprise chamber of the Amsterdam court, requesting that the court will investigate ABN's conduct regarding the "speedy sale of its American activities (LaSalle)."

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