By DPA
London : Britain's Barclays Bank has been urged to drop its distinctive eagle logo following objections from Dutch bank ABN Amro that it has associations with the eagle symbol used by Nazi Germany.
Barclays, which is in the running to take over the Dutch banking group, has indicated that the eagle would be replaced with ABN Amro's shield if the takeover goes ahead, the Financial Times said Wednesday.
Some ABN Amro employees had apparently objected to the eagle, which has associations with the symbol used by Nazi Germany, which occupied the Netherlands during World War II.
However, sources stressed that any changes would only affect its corporate logo and that Barclays would continue to use the eagle in its British branches, the report said.
Under the current plan, Dutch branches will keep the ABN Amro name.
Barclays' use of the eagle dates back to the late 1600s, when a goldsmith-banker called John Freame hung a sign with a black spread eagle outside his banking business on Lombard Street in London.
In 1736, his son Joseph made his brother-in-law, James Barclay, a partner in the business, in effect launching the Barclays dynasty.
The eagle has been redesigned several times over the years but has always been the symbol of Barclays, Britain's third-biggest bank.