Chemical says it's seen last of merger charges.

Chemical Banking Corp. does not expect to incur further charges related to its 1991 merger with Manufacturers Hanover Corp., said Peter J. Tobin, chief financial officer.

In a briefing on third-quarter earnings before securities analysts on Wednesday, Mr. Tobin said that the $115 million charge, related to unanticipated facilities and branch consolidation costs Chemical recorded in the quarter, would be the bank's final merger-related charge.

Since the deal was announced two years ago, such charges have totaled $625 million.

"The costs [of the merger] were clearly more than we anticipated," said Mr. Tobin.

Sales of Argentine Bonds

In forecasting Chemical's performance in the next few quarters, Mr. Tobin said the sale of Argentine bonds will make a significant contribution to profits in the fourth quarter, thought he declined to say how much the bonds would add to earnings.

Chemical has about $350 million in Argentine bonds that carry a value of 65 cents to 75 cents on the dollar, Mr. Tobin said.

Mr. Tobin said Chemical will adopt a market-value accounting rule for its securities portfolio at yearend. As a result, the bank will categorize more securities as "held for sale," which will boost Tier 1 capital.

Mr. Tobin declined to say what portion of the bank's portfolio will be recategorized. The bank currently has $24 billion in investment securities, $7 billion of which are categorized as held for sale.

Mr. Tobin said net interest income, which totaled $1.16 billion in the third quarter, would remain stable or edge up. But he expects the net interest margin to decline from 3.68 percentage points in the third quarter.

Chemical's loss provision and level of chargeoffs will both be around $1.25 billion for this year, Mr. Tobin said, adding that both will decline significantly in 1994.

Chemical will spend $50 million in the fourth quarter to launch its recently announced cobranded credit card with Shell Oil Co., said Charles R. Walsh, executive vice president in charge or retail card services.

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