ABN Takes More

The new agreement is thought to make the revenue split roughly in line with the costs incurred by the two banks.

The joint venture was established in 1997 and matches Rothchild's advisory expertise and ABN's equity sales trading and research capability in the States. It was only last week that ABN announced the closure of its own US equities and corporate finance operations.

The venture with Rothchild currently employs around 160 people and, to date, has confounded critics by being one of the more profitable European investment banking operations in the US. Quite what effect the closure of ABN's equities business will have on the arrangement remains to be seen.