Commonwealth Bank yesterday confirmed that it was in talks to buy ABN AMRO Australia, an investment bank surplus to the needs of ABN's new owner, British bank RBS. The Australian reported today that CBA "bid just shy of $440 million for ABN AMRO". The Financial Review puts the bid price at $450 million. The Herald Sun speculated that the price may be "somewhere around $450 million to $490 million."CBA's motive appears to be the acquisition of the retail broking franchise of ABN AMRO Morgans, the former Morgans Stockbroking. ABN also brings less valuable relationships in equity capital markets, debt capital markets and corporate advisory.The Financial Review reported that ABN last issued shares to local staff (who hold a minority stake of 20 per cent) with an implied value of $910 million.The newspaper also reported that ABN expected to report a net profit for the financial year just finished of around $100 million, down from $131 million in 2007.