BANKING & FINANCE - April 17, 1996

Corporate Lending Falls 21% in 1st Quarter: Bank loans to U.S. companies slowed in that quarter amid a pause in lending for mergers and acquisitions. Banks arranged $143.9 billion of loans for U.S. companies in the first quarter, 21% lower than in the same quarter last year, according to Loan Pricing Corp.-Gold Sheets, a New York firm that tracks the loan market. Still, the first-quarter lull in corporate lending is expected to be short-lived. Among several expected transactions, Chase Manhattan Corp. is arranging a $1.05-billion loan for Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.’s purchase of River City Broadcasting. BankAmerica Corp. is lending $1.08 billion to finance Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.’s acquisition of Xerox Corp.’s insurance unit, Talagen Holdings Inc.