C S Sovran Corp

Amgen Inc. said it plans to periodically sell up to $200 million of debt securities, with terms to be determined by market conditions. The Thousand Oaks-based biotechnology concern said it would use the proceeds for general corporate purposes. Amgen has become the nation's leading biotechnology company on the strength of its first two marketable drugs, and has relatively little long-term debt--$12 million.

In a move designed to deflect critics, Chemical Banking Corp. and Manufacturers Hanover Corp. said Wednesday that they will keep open about 85% of existing branches in low-income neighborhoods when the two banking giants combine later this year. The banks' plan to close 14 of 91 branches in less affluent areas shows how large banks are becoming increasingly sensitive to criticism of their community lending records, according to interviews.

Bank mergers are altering the American banking landscape, with new powerhouses rising to dominate the industry for at least the remainder of the decade. Three of the nation's five biggest banking companies are the products of mergers, whether approved or pending, according to a list of the nation's top 25 banks by asset value as of the end of 1991. The list takes into account mergers that have been announced but not consummated.

Comerica Inc. said Monday that it will absorb cross-town rival Manufacturers National Corp. in a stock merger valued at about $1.1 billion that would create one of the nation's biggest banks. The deal is the latest in a wave of consolidations to sweep the banking industry in the past few months. It would create a banking company with about $26.8 billion in assets, putting it among the 30 biggest banks in the nation.

Major banks reported big gains in third-quarter earnings Monday, citing the benefits of lower interest rates and early signs that problem-loan difficulties may be easing. Charlotte, N.C.-based NationsBank Corp., the fourth-biggest U.S. banking company, said third-quarter profit quadrupled to $350 million as the result of rising net interest margins and declining credit problems. Net interest margin is the difference between what a bank charges in interest and what it pays in interest. No.

Bank mergers are altering the American banking landscape, with new powerhouses rising to dominate the industry for at least the remainder of the decade. Three of the nation's five biggest banking companies are the products of mergers, whether approved or pending, according to a list of the nation's top 25 banks by asset value as of the end of 1991. The list takes into account mergers that have been announced but not consummated.