THE HAGUE, July 13: A bid by British bank Barclays to snap up Dutch giant ABN Amro got a major boost on Friday from a court ruling that clouds the future of a rival offer from a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland.

The ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court threw the consortium's overture into doubt and left analysts wondering if RBS and its partners would go ahead with their bid.

“We have noted the decision of the court,” a spokeswoman for RBS said.—AFP