Banca Popolare di Lodi, the Italian bank which is a potential rival to ABN Amro's €6.3bn ($8.2bn) takeover bid for Banca Antonveneta, has said it is still interested in making a counter offer.
The bank is seeking to discredit a report in this morning's Het Financieele Dagblad, the Dutch daily, which claimed Banca Popolare had ruled itself out of the running for its domestic rival.