ABN Amro's supervisory board is to play a greater role in the record takeover battle for the Dutch bank, but it has stopped short of giving in to hedge fund shareholder calls for it to oust chief executive Rijkman Groenink and take charge of the sale process.

The Dutch bank said in a statement this morning that three members of its supervisory board, including chairman Arthur Martinez and vice-chairman André Olijslager, will form a new "transaction committee".