From this morning’s grandiose rhetoric, Barclays' chief executive, John Varley, is painting the £45.5 billion merger with ABN Amro as a done deal – it is anything but.

Never mind the possibility that Barclays may struggle to increase its €36.25 per share bid to match rival Royal Bank of Scotlands mooted €40 per share offer.

What has become clear is that ABN will be decimated if it merges with Barclays. Unions will be compelled to fight against the 23,600 Dutch-weighted redundancies, while the Dutch Government is unlikely to look kindly on the fact that Barclays has secured all the key positions on the new board.

Even the Dutch regulator, DNB, has rolled over, giving power to the UK’s Financial Services Aurhority after much posturing over its role in ABN’s future.

Barclays has thrown the Dutch some bones. The new company will be headquartered in the Netherlands and the Dutch will hold a higher number of operational roles. But this fight is far from over.

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax