<div><p>The biggest German bank, Deutsche Bank, said Tuesday it would buy parts of the state-owned Dutch lender ABN Amro's activities in the Netherlands for an undisclosed amount.</p><p>"The assets to be acquired remain the same as those in the original agreement announced on July 2, 2008. Negotiations continue on final terms and conditions" with the Dutch finance ministry, a statement said.</p><p>The deal, targeting parts of the Dutch bank's commercial banking activities, is subject to approval by ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank's supervisory board, the Dutch central bank and regulatory authorities, it added.</p><p>In September, Deutsche Bank had said it would abandon negotiations for the purchase of parts of ABN Amro.</p><p>In July 2008, the Belgian-Dutch banking and insurance group Fortis had announced the sale of a portion of ABN's commercial activities to Deutsche Bank for 709 million euros, a requirement under fair competition conditions set by the European Commission.</p><p>Fortis was itself nationalised in October 2008, a move which included its stake in ABN Amro.</p><p>Earlier on Tuesday, the German business daily Handelsblatt cited financial sources as saying that Deutsche Bank was interested in subsidiaries of the Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS).</p><p>A Deutsche Bank spokesman contacted by AFP declined to comment on what he called "rumours."</p><p>Deutsche Bank is actively seeking to bolster its retail banking activities and reduce its dependence on a globally significant investment bank unit that is vulnerable to financial market volatility.</p><p>The German bank is also in talks on taking a stake in compatriot Sal Oppenheim, which specialises in banking services to the wealthy.</p><p>Those talks are expected to wrap up later this month or in early November.</p><p>Deutsche Bank has already acquired a minority holding in Germany's Postbank, which has the largest retail network in the country. It is expected to gain full control in the coming years.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=61527466&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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