BANKING

Dime, Anchor Thrifts Agree to Merge: Dime Bancorp Inc. and Anchor Bancorp Inc., the two largest thrifts in the New York-New Jersey urban area, said they will combine in a $1.2-billion stock swap. They said they will take a $50-million restructuring charge and cut 500 jobs as operations are meshed, for annual pretax savings of 15%, or $50 million, by 1996. Dime will exchange 1.77 shares of its common stock for each common share of Anchor. The combined company, to be called Dime Bancorp Inc., will have $20 billion in assets and nearly $13 billion in deposits. The banking operation, the Dime Savings Bank of New York, will be the largest thrift on the East Coast. It will also merge mortgage banking firms that together hold $13 billion in loans.