Newsday from New York, New York • 53

A New York Lewsday CITY NEWS The biggest beef of customers of one prominent HMO is the length of time they're forced to wait for care, an audit by the city shows. Page 49. NY CLOSEUP SMART MONEY As the state's health-care You can do more with cable 'bible' is changed, both patients- television than subscribe to it: rights groups and hospitals are You can invest in it through concerned. Page 49. limited partnerships.

Page 51. BUSINESS Kidder Follows Salomon in Cutbacks By Glenn Kessler In another dramatic example of cost-cutting on Wall Street, Kidder, Peabody Co. yesterday informed its employees that it was eliminating 35 percent, or 100, of the jobs and some offices in its unprofitable municipal-finance unit. The move came one day after Salomon Brothers the No. 1 municipal-finance house, announced it was quitting the business entirely.

Kidder officials said the cuts were unrelated to Salomon's decision, but the two announcements together reflect the renewed emphasis on Wall Street to rein in costs, particularly in the municipal bond area, which has been hurt by market volatility, dwindling profits, and a slowdown in business since the passage of the 1986 tax reform act. "A lot of our business just isn't there anymore," said Max C. Chapman Kidder chief operating officer. He noted that Kidder, one of the top five municipal firms in 1984, specialized in housing and pollution-control bonds, "which were particularly hard hit by the tax reform act." Kidder ranked 17th for the first nine months of 1987. Chapman declined to specify how much money the firm expected to save, but noted that "we're clearly talking about many millions of dollars." Kidder officials said the firm had spent several months studying how to streamline the municipal unit, but some employees were still surprised by the magnitude of the cuts.

Saks to Spend $300 Million On Ex Expansion, New Tower DO "provide a greater degree of comfort for customers." Bulldozers began excavating the site on East 50th Street yesterday. The tower is adjacent to the original Saks building. The first 10 floors of the tower will link to the existing building. Swiss Bank will occupy the top 26 floors totaling about 340,000 square feet. All but Swiss Bank's administrative offices will leave the corporate headquarters at 4 World Trade Center and relocate in the tower, said Willi Wittwer, a vice president at Swiss Bank.

He said the bank will hire an additional 600 employees after the move. BATUS the parent company of Saks, said the expansion will allow the retailer to pursue a larger market share. "We expect this expansion and modernization to bring increased sales and return. It represents a firm commitment to the growth of our retail business and specificially Saks Fifth Avenue," said Henry J. Frigon, president of BATUS.

Saks, with 44 stores, will launch a program next fall to build five new stores by 1991. Stores will be built in Tyson's Corner, Denver, Minneapolis, North Palm Beach, and Portland, Ore. EAB said yesterday. and a number of British there will be sanity at banks. But no formal offer said, referring to ru- have been made.

an impending sale that The rumors picked up through the bank for year when EAB's six suitors have been said ents hired a New York Chase Manhattan, Citicorp, banker to explore several SIGNPOSTS DOW GOLD DOLLAR $458.75 $1.00 $1.00 £1.00 2.508.16 143.87 1.822 1.646 36.72 yen marks dollars Stocks rallied from their steep slide, as bargain hunters were attracted by the depressed prices. But analysts said that without brighter economic news the rebound will be short-lived. Ticker, Page 50: 050 William G. Ferrell, senior vice president of the unit, declined to say how many of the job cuts would be in New York City or how many people in all will be fired. He emphasized that the firm was committed to continuing in the municipal business, although with a "green-beret type of operation." Meanwhile, other Wall Street executives were still reeling from Salomon's announcement on Monday.

"What Salomon did was silly," said one leading executive. "I don't know of any business school solution that says you give away the No. 1 market share." Some officials noted that Salomon's departure creates more opportunity in the municipal business because Salomon's 10 percent share is now up for grabs. Saks Fifth Avenue is planning a $300-million expansion program that will include a 36-floor tower adjoining its flagship store in Manhattan, construction of five new stores across the country and renovation of another 21 stores, including the one in Garden City, L.I. Saks officials said yesterday that the limestone tower, which will cost Saks $50 million to $100 million to build, is expected to be completed in early 1990.

Swiss Bank a partner in the new tower, will be the only tenant in the building. The retailer said its portion of the tower about 80,000 square feet will add 25 to 30 percent more retail space to the East 50th Street store. The additional space will be used primarily to expand menswear, women's and men's shoes, women's designer clothes, cosmetics and fragrances. This space, said Melvin Jacobs, chairman of the specialty store chain, which last year had sales nationwide exceeding $1 billion, will improve the display and accessibility of merchandise and thus, By Lisa Redd Aiming for chief executive, By Susan Harrigan "This means The six-bank group that owns Eu- EAB," Dempsey American Bancorp has decid- mors about ropean ed to keep the New York-based bank have churned for now, rather than sell it, Ray- years. Potential mond Dempsey, EAB's chairman and to include venue What It Does: Saks, owned by BATUS is nation's largest specialty store chain.

Where It's Based: Flagship store is in Manhattan; 43 other stores are across the country including New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Who It Employs: 10,500 workers nationwide. What It Earned: Company, which is private, won't release earnings. Sales exceeded $1 billion in '86. What's Going On: A $300- million expansion, including construction of a 36-floor retail and office tower on East 50th Street, construction of five new stores and renovation of 21 others.

Owners Won't Sell EAB, including its possible Dempsey said that late consortium decided to hold until at least 1991, when against interstate banking expired. That means banks nia, which are big enough be able to buy New York After 1991, Dempsey ers "will reach another and will examine alternatives taking the bank public or In the next several strategy will be to increase er business on Long Island, come a major lender to dium-sized companies, To emphasize its Long EAB, with, headquarters. tan, also is thinking about and Japanese its name back to Franklin National. is known to EAB bought parts of the ruined Franklin National in 1974 after Frankspeed last lin's collapse rocked the banking world European par- and left 20,000 individual shareholdoptions for worthless stock. Several Franklin offisale.

cers, including Michele Sindona, were investment ers, mostly on Long Island, holding H380100 last week, the convicted on fraud charges. A on to EAB EAB has 2,700 employees and 87 most laws branches. After losing $133 million 4861 will have three years ago, the bank has become in Califor- profitable. But its earnings still are to do so, will relatively weak, and unlike many othbanks. er large banks, it hasn't set up a spesaid, decision the point" own- cial worth of reserve Third against World its loans.

$880 million 3 such as Banking experts speculated that the selling it. consortium is keeping EAB for the moyears, EAB's ment simply because it can't find anyits consum- one to pay a good price for the bank. and to be- "It has this whopping great Latin 8 small and me- American debt and nobody wants to Dempsey said. buy that," said Deborah Holland, a Island roots, banking analyst with International in Manhat- Banking Credit Analysis a credit changing rating company..