BANKING

Community Group Won’t Oppose Bank Merger: The influential Assn. of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, has agreed not to oppose the proposed merger of Chemical Banking Corp. and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Corp. ACORN had threatened to challenge the merger unless the New York banks stepped up lending and services to low-income and minority communities. ACORN dropped its opposition after the banks added new features to a plan, announced last month, to commit $750 million in loans to low-income groups.