THE Dutch banking company ABN Amro announced yesterday that it was purchasing Michigan based Standard Federal Bancorporation, the ninth largest US thrift institution, for $1.9 billion (£1.12 billion).

ABN Amro North America, owned by the world's 14th largest bank, said it was buying Standard Federal's 31.2 million shares at 859 a share in cash, making it the largest acquisition in the Dutch bank's history. Standard Federal, based in Troy, Michigan, is the parent of Standard Federal Bank of Michigan and its Bell Federal Bank division in Chicago.