Comdirect, controlled by Germany's third-biggest bank, Commerzbank, has closed affiliates in Italy and Spain and plans to lay off 308 of its 1,029 employees.

K&H Bank or Kereskedelmi és Hitelbank is the third-biggest commercial bank in Hungary, owned by KBC Bank of Belgium.

LEAD: Societe Generale, France's third-biggest private bank, said it had begun a defense against an investor who has acquired 9.2 percent of the bank's shares.

Canada's second-biggest and third-biggest banks, the TD Bank Financial Group and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, reported fourth-quarter losses.

In recent months, he has agreed to buy Orbanco, the fourth-biggest bank in Oregon, and the Nevada National Bank, the third-biggest bank in Nevada.

Bilbao, Spain's third-biggest private bank measured by assets, and Vizcaya, which is ranked sixth, are widely regarded as among the most dynamically managed banks in the country and enjoy an international stature.

Last year it went into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation, Switzerland's third-biggest bank, with a view to cross-selling insurance and investment products.

Since 1992, Thomas Cook - founded in 1841 by the English travel agent who originated the guided tour - has been owned by Westdeutsche Landesbank, Germany's third-biggest bank.

Merging Midland, Britain's third-biggest and feeblest bank, with Asia's biggest non-Japanese bank, Hongkong and Shanghai, might solve immediate problems for both.

And the Chase Manhattan Corporation, which owns the nation's third-biggest bank, has been buying up investment banks with the hope of becoming competitive in a hurry.