UPDATE 1-Susquehanna to consolidate units, sees charge

(Recasts; adds details, share movement)

Sept 5 (Reuters) - Financial holding company Susquehanna Bancshares Inc (SUSQ.O) said it will consolidate its three bank units into one and added that a plan to sell $350 million of vehicle leases were terminated by a buyer.

The company expects to record a charge of $6 million to $8 million for the consolidation in the third quarter and sees the termination hurting its pre-tax income by about $6.5 million for the period.

The company sees savings of $18 million to $20 million in 2009 from the consolidation, which is likely to be completed by early October.

On termination of the sale, Susquehanna said the financial institution, which was planning to buy the lease portfolio, called off the deal as it was temporarily exiting the vehicle loan origination business due to "recent market developments."

Shares of the Lititz, Pennsylvania-based company were trading down nearly 3 percent at $15.57 Friday morning on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Anurag Kotoky in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)