Barclays this morning said it had completed the first stage of necessary regulatory steps to pursue a takeover of ABN Amro amid claims by another suitor for the Dutch bank that it will not raise its bid any further.

The UK bank, which has an agreed deal with ABN Amro and is vying with Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Banco Santander for control of the Dutch group in a record banking takeover battle, today said it has made "substantially all of the relevant filings" with regulators regarding the deal.