Banks Hedge on Cutting Rate: Major U.S....

Banks Hedge on Cutting Rate: Major U.S. banks have been slow to follow Chase Manhattan Bank’s cut in the prime lending rate because of uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s monetary strategies as well as the slow summer vacation season, economists said. Chase stood alone among the nation’s large money-center banks in lowering its prime rate a half percentage point to 10.5%, the second such decline in as many months. Reflecting the banks’ dropping costs of funds, the average yield on six-month certificates of deposit fell to 8.79% last week from 8.84% the previous week.