Big US banks lower their 'prime' again

Most major banks lowered their prime rate to 161/2 percent, with the 12 th-largest Crocker Bank of San Francisco leapfrogging down to 16 percent for the lending rate to its best corporate customers.

Among the largest banks, Morgan Guaranty, Citibank, Bankers Trust, Chemical, and Irving Trust followed the lead of three other major banks - Chase Manhattan, Continental Illinois, and First Chicago - which took the action last week.