A Barclays-ABN merger will create the world's biggest bank

The group added it had made "excellent progress" with plans for its �45bn ($91bn) offer and it was confident no competition issues would be raised.

Barclays issued the update under stock market rules.

Its rival bidder, a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland which is still considering whether to make a formal offer, must do the same by Sunday.

Barclays said it had already made filings with key regulators in the UK and Netherlands.

In an update required by Dutch watchdogs it said it expected to have won approval from most of the regulatory authorities - across 53 countries - it needed to allow the deal.

Break-up

Meanwhile, the RBS-led consortium of three banks - RBS, Belgian-Dutch group Fortis and Spain's Santander - are still considering their position, Fortis chairman Maurice Lippens said.

Mr Lippens told shareholders that the consortium had not yet decided what to do as a legal dispute had erupted over ABN's plans to sell its US arm LaSalle.

"That is why today we cannot take a definite position ... Rest assured, we are considering every option because it's a minefield indeed," he told an investor meeting.

The consortium made a proposed offer of �49bn for ABN last month, but was turned down.

Since that rejection, the consortium has since made a $24.5bn (�12.2bn) takeover offer for LaSalle.

But ABN has continually rebuffed its advances as it would prefer a merger with Barclays, which would lead to the creation of the world's biggest bank.

Under the Barclays merger plan, ABN had planned to sell LaSalle to Bank of America - but a Dutch court blocked that deal at the start of May.

The Amsterdam commercial court ruled 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.