BANK SEEKS STOCK LAWRENCE USED AS LOAN COLLATERAL.(BUSINESS)

Byline: JAMES DENN Business writer

ALBANY -- Hudson City Savings Institution on Monday said it was looking to take nearly of all the remaining ownership Albert W. Lawrence has in Lawrence Agency Corp., the company that formed the basis for his once-huge insurance empire.

Hudson City asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Albany to let it seize 45 shares of LAC stock. Lawrence used the stock in 1993 as collateral for a $4.2 million loan.

A few weeks ago, the state Insurance Department and Fleet Bank installed new directors of LAC and booted Lawrence from the company's board of directors. The state and the bank own 68 percent of LAC's shares.

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