ABN Amro was to sell the Chicago bank to Bank of America for $21 million in a related deal to the $91 billion merger with Barclays of Britain. But, a European bank consortium trying to halt the merger has offered about $98 billion for ABN despite the ABN-Barclays agreement. However, that projected deal is contingent on LaSalle Bank not being sold separately. The reported BoA response is the latest in the complex and lengthy merger battle, the Times of London said. (monstersandcritics.com)