Bear Stearns, the US investment bank, has awarded ABN Amro a contract to provide third party clearing services through Continuous Linked Settlement Bank, a new payments clearing house.

The deal means that ABN Amro's global transactions services division will process and clear large payments and provide other third party services for Bear Stearns' brokerage business. The contract was awarded after a competitive pitch involving some of Europe's largest clearing banks. It is ABN Amro's first deal to provide a broker with continuous linked settlement clearing services. Neither party would disclose the terms of the deal.