ZURICH – A campaign led by British hedge funds to force major changes at Dutch bank ABN could, if successful, lead to other European banks being targeted in the same way, say bankers and analysts.
But it is still far from clear whether calls from some shareholders, led by British funds Toscafund and The Children’s Investment Fund Management (TCI), for radical measures leading even to a break-up of ABN, will prevail, say analysts.
Regulators could even step in if they suspect any collusion or stock manipulation by investors.
“If the hedge funds are able to force a more radical outcome, they will certainly target other banks,” said a London-based analyst with a British bank, adding that a financial institution would have to underperform badly to be vulnerable to attack.
