Chase would consider giving up its bank charter.

Thomas Labrecque, President of the nation’s third largest banking company said Chase Manhattan Corp. will consider giving up its charter if Congress does not pass measures sought by bankers to allow them to sell certain products and services now restricted. “We either get a change on the powers side, or we think of giving up the charter,” Labrecque told a news reception held by Chase Manhattan Corp. in San Francisco. Chase and other banks suffer from competition by non-bank competitors who were allowed under federal law to sell products prohibited for the banks, such as insurance, real estate and securities.