October 20, 1983

After a spate of healthy earning reports from most of America's big banks, two of the nation's 10 largest bank holding companies reported sharp declines in net income yesterday. The BankAmerica Corporation, the nation's second-largest bank holding company, said earnings in the third quarter dropped 29.1 percent from the same period a year ago. The sharp drop in net income, which took Wall Street analysts by surprise, was attributed by the bank to higher personnel expenses associated with the acquisition of the Seafirst Corporation, which it took over last July, weak loan growth and the effect of problem loans. Seafirst was a casualty of the failure of the Penn Square Bank of Oklahoma City, from which it had purchased $400 million in energy loans.

Washington will not allow Syria, ''aided and abetted by 7,000 Soviet advisers and technicians,'' to destroy the chances for stability in Lebanon, President Reagan said. In a nationally-televised news conference from the White House, Mr. Reagan also said he did not believe that the ''free world would stand by and allow the Straits of Hormuz'' to be closed to oil traffic by Iran. The President declined to say what actions might be taken if the Iranians closed the key waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. (Page A1, Column 6.) Four marines were wounded slightly by the explosion of a car bomb as a convoy of four American military vehicles moved along a road near Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut's southern suburbs. (A13:1-3.)

After months of negotiations and squabbling, Governor Cuomo and Mayor Koch announced agreement yesterday on the last major issue in the $1 billion redevelopment of the Times Square area. At a news conference, they said they had agreed on a consortium to develop a 2.4-million-square-foot wholesale merchandise mart at the southeast corner of 42d Street and Eighth Avenue. The agreement came two months after New York City said it would pull out of the joint project with the state's Urban Development Corporation because of a dispute over which of two teams of private developers would get the project. 'Firm' Agreement Reached Under the agreement, a consortium involving both development teams was formed and will begin negotiations with the Times Square Redevelopment Corporation, the public agency in charge of the project.

Six years ago, Mary Rodriguez was so intimidated at being seen running that she had her husband drive her to a park near their home in Rego Park, Queens, and wait while she completed her modest training runs. ''I got into running through a New York Road Runners Club exercise class on a Saturday morning,'' Mrs. Rodriguez recalled. ''I couldn't even run a city block. It was embarrassing. That first week, the exercise teacher said to me, 'Don't give up, you can't expect to undo 35 years of inactivity in one week.' ''

Companies A.T.& T. plans to charge off $5.2 billion against 1983 earnings as part of its transformation from protected monopoly to competitive enterprise. It would be the largest such charge-off in corporate history. The move could make A.T.& .T. a more attractive investment, experts said, because it would be earning the same amount of money on what will appear to be a smaller asset base. (Page A1.) The F.C.C. said tariff charges proposed by A.T.& T. could lead to significant increases in long-distance rates for business. (D5.) Two of the nation's 10 largest banks reported sharp declines in earnings after a number of others had posted healthy gains. BankA merica's third-quarter earnings declined 29.1 percent, while those of Continental Illinois fell 38.9 percent. (D1.) American Airlines and Piedmont Aviation reported higher earnings. (D6.) Time Inc.'s net income fell 13.9 percent. (D6.) Earnings rose 34.2 percent for RCA and 71.6 percent for Weyerhaeuser. (D6.)