The scythe will swing again next week as nearly wed Chemical Bank and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. cut 200 more jobs on their way to trimming 6,200 from their combined work force by 1994, a spokesman for the banks said.
Next week's cut will come in the bank's corporate banking, merchant banking, and corporate finance segment, said John Stefans, Manufacturers' chief spokesman who was appointed spokesman for the proposed new bank on Oct. 4. They represent a 20% reduction in that sector, he noted.
"It's really an elimination of overlapping responsibilities," Mr. Stefans said, adding that cuts from Chemical and Manufacturers will be roughly equal.
"There is an extensive outplacement service set up," he said.
The banks have cut 944 jobs since announcing their planned merger last July 15, Mr. Stefans said. He confirmed the 200 layoffs yesterday.
Of the 944 already cut, 463 came from Manufacturers and 481 came from Chemical, he said.
Mr. Stefans was unable to say when the next wave of cuts would hit, but he said, "Certainly right after the merger we would have quite a few."
The merger is scheduled for Dec. 31, and Mr. Stefans was unaware of anything that would impede it.
The Federal Reserve accepted the banks' merger application as informationally complete on Oct. 24. That means the Fed has all the information it needs to decide wether to approve the merger, the said. Both bank's shareholders approved the merger Nov. 1, Mr. Stefans said.
He added that the $200 million of savings the banks projected in July for the first year after the merger has been adjusted to $225 million. But Mr. Stefans emphasized that both figures are raw estimates.
"Those numbers do not appear in official documents," he said.
Mr. Stefans also said that, through the merger, the banks will easily save $650 million by 1994, as projected last July.
"Our comfort level on a scale of one to 10 is a 10 in meeting that, and we are quite confident we will go beyond it," he said.
Mara Hilderman, the money center bank analyst at Moody's Investors Service, said news of the 200 layoffs had been anticipated and would not affect either Chemical's or Manufacturers' ratings, which were placed under review July 15.
Together the banks have about $9 billion of debt outstanding, she said, adding that Moody's rates both companies' senior debt Baa3.
Yesterday's Market
High-grade corporate bond prices moved up yesterday in quiet trading, following Wednesday's selloff on the much higher-than-expected producer price index report. The market climbed about 1/4 point in the short end and was unchanged to up 1/2 point in the long end, traders said.
High-yield bonds were firm and up 1/4 point over all, except for D R Holdings Inc. bonds, which fell between six to nine points following a poor earnings report, traders said.
Among yesterday's new issues was Student Loan Marketing Association, which offered $500 million of floating-rate notes due 1996. The noncallable notes flate weekly at 37.5 basis points over three-month Treasury bills and pay quarterly. Morgan Stanley & Co. lead managed the offering.
PepsiCo Inc. issued $200 million of 7% notes due 1996. The noncallable notes were priced to 99.859 to yield 7.034% or 40 basis points over comparable Treasuries. Moody's rates the deal Al, while Standard & Poor's Corp. rates it A. Morgan Stanley sole managed the offering.
Federal National Mortgage Association issued $200 million of 6.060% of notes at par. Noncallable for one year, the notes are priced to yield 13 basis points over threee-year Treasuries. Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley lead managed on the offering.
Commercial Credit Co. has issued $150 million of 7.375% notes at par. The noncallable notes due 1996 were priced to yield 75 basis points over Treasuries. Moody's rates the notes A2. Standard & Poor's rates them A. Lehman lead managed the offering.
Standard & Poor's has affirmed Marriott Corp.'s seniod debt at BBB and subordinated debt at BBB-minus, according to an agency release. About $1.7 billion of debt is outstanding.
"Marriott's ratings reflect its strong lodging industry position, exceptional operating performance under difficult industry conditions, and the relative cash flow stability of its hotel and contract food service units," the release said. "Despite the recession and the Persian Gulf War's reduction of domestic travel, Marriott's lodging segment operating income rose 2.3% for the nine months ended Sept. 30 and occupancy remains well above industry norms."
