The head of equity capital markets at ABN Amro has claimed it is "business as usual" at the division despite recent market gyrations, as the Dutch lender hired directors in Germany and the Netherlands.

ABN Amro, which is at the centre of a takeover battle between Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, hired Christiaan van Schuppen, formerly at Morgan Stanley, as a director for Scandinavian equity capital markets.