ABN Amro appears to have turned round the fortunes of its investment banking division just as it is about to be sold. After years of underperformance, fees from debt and equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions at the Dutch bank grew more than any of its rivals.

ABN Amro will announce details of performance at its wholesale banking division during its half-year results today but its investment banking revenues were $923m (€674m) in the first six months, according to Dealogic, an investment banking data provider.