Chase Manhattan Subsidiary to Cut British Operations

Chase Manhattan Equities, a subsidiary of U.S.-based financial services giant Chase Manhattan Corp., said today that it will withdraw from some London share trading operations and eliminate 135 jobs here.

Chase joins a growing list of firms that have pulled out or cut back operations in the London financial markets since the 1987 stock market crash.

The London brokerage arm of Chase Manhattan said that volume and returns were too small and that it will withdraw from market making--wholesale buying and selling--in British equities.

More than 2,000 people have lost their jobs in London’s financial district since the 1987 market crash, which shrank trading volumes and forced market players to tighten belts.