The row over LaSalle's future has hit Barclays' bid for ABN Amro

The move for US-based LaSalle would be the latest twist in an increasingly bitter banking takeover battle.

A Dutch court last week blocked ABN's plans to sell its US business to Bank of America for $21bn.

The sell-off of LaSalle had been a key factor in ABN's planned $90bn merger with Britain's Barclays bank.

Legal action

The Royal Bank of Scotland consortium, which also includes Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch bank Fortis, offered ABN $22bn for control of LaSalle, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

An earlier report on the Wall Street Journal's website suggested the figure could be as high as $24.5bn.

The Royal Bank of Scotland consortium has already indicated it would be willing to pay up to $98bn for ABN - trumping Barclays' bid for the Dutch bank - on condition that LaSalle remains part of ABN.

Amsterdam's commercial court ruled on Thursday that ABN's management could not go ahead with the sale of LaSalle to Bank of America without first putting the decision to a vote by shareholders.

Bank of America on Friday said it planned to sue ABN as a result of the ruling.

The Royal Bank of Scotland consortium eventually plans to break up ABN if it wins control of the Dutch bank, while Barclays has pledged to shift the enlarged group's headquarters to Amsterdam if its bid is successful.