BANKING & FINANCE - Jan. 1, 1992

Two Major Bank Mergers Completed: The last day of 1991 saw the nation’s third- and fourth-largest banks created. Chemical Banking Corp. completed its merger with Manufacturers Hanover Corp. to form Chemical Banking Corp., with assets of about $140 billion. It is the third-biggest bank, behind the scheduled combination of BankAmerica Corp. and Security Pacific Corp. NationsBank Corp., the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank created by NCNB Corp. and C&S;/Sovran Corp., became the No. 4 bank, with $118 billion in assets and 1,900 branches spanning 9 states. Chemical also said it increased a fourth-quarter merger-related restructuring charge to $625 million from $550 million.