Salomon Lays Off Top Bank Analyst

Veteran bank analyst Carole S. Berger was laid off last week by Salomon Brothers Inc. as the company, recently acquired by Travelers Inc., began its first round of layoffs, sources said.

Ms. Berger, Salomon's leading bank stock analyst for four years, will remain on board until yearend. Salomon's thrift analyst, Jeffrey Naschek, was also laid off.

Salomon Brothers and Smith Barney, a division of Travelers, declined to comment. Ms. Berger and Mr. Naschek were unavailable to comment.

Henry C. Dickson, bank analyst at Smith Barney, is expected to succeed Ms. Berger. Diane B. Glossman, a money-center analyst at Salomon, will stay on after the merger, sources said.

Layoffs were expected because the overlap in bank research at Salomon and Smith Barney was considerable. Ms. Berger's salary, reportedly around $1 million, gave the company a chance to cut costs, sources said.

But Ms. Berger, who is among Wall Street's best-known bank analysts, is expected to find another job soon. Both Lehman Brothers Inc. and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, which has no bank analysts, are said to be looking for research talent.

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