Lincoln Financial Group Receives Commitments for $2 Billion Bank Credit Line

PHILADELPHIA, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) today announced that the company has received commitments for a $2 billion bank credit facility, which includes a $1.5 billion credit facility allowing for the issuance of letters of credit expiring in 2015 and a 364-day $500 million credit facility. The $2 billion credit facility will be used primarily to provide letters of credit in support of certain life insurance reserves.

Closing of the credit facility is subject to agreement on final terms and conditions and other customary closing conditions. Upon closing, this credit facility would replace the company's current bank credit facility scheduled to expire in the first quarter of 2011.

"Securing the credit commitments from our bank partners is another important step in a broad capital strategy that has further strengthened our balance sheet and financial flexibility," said Dennis R. Glass, president and chief executive officer. "The many decisive moves on the capital front together with improved operating results and general account conditions as well as strong execution on a comprehensive life reserve financing plan have positioned us favorably under our internal and rating agency stress tests. As a result, we continue to believe we are well positioned to exit CPP without diluting shareholders and within a time frame that, assuming favorable market conditions, may be accelerated."

About Lincoln Financial

Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) and its affiliates. With headquarters in the Philadelphia region, the companies of Lincoln Financial Group had assets under management of $146 billion as of March 31, 2010. Through its affiliated companies, Lincoln Financial Group offers: annuities; life, group life and disability insurance; 401(k) and 403(b) plans; savings plans; and comprehensive financial planning and advisory services. For more information, including a copy of our most recent SEC reports containing our balance sheets, please visit www.LincolnFinancial.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS – CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE

Certain statements made in this report and in other written or oral statements made by us or on our behalf are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA").  A forward-looking statement is a statement that is not a historical fact and, without limitation, includes any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words like:  "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "project," "will," "shall" and other words or phrases with similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance.  In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, trends in our businesses, prospective services or products, future performance or financial results and the outcome of contingencies, such as legal proceedings.  We claim the protection afforded by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the PSLRA.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results contained in the forward-looking statements.  Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially, some of which are described within the forward-looking statements, include, among others:  

• Deterioration in general economic and business conditions, both domestic and foreign, that may affect foreign exchange rates, premium levels, claims experience, the level of pension benefit costs and funding and investment results;
• Economic declines and credit market illiquidity could cause us to realize additional impairments on investments and certain intangible assets, including goodwill and a valuation allowance against deferred tax assets, which may reduce future earnings and/or affect our financial condition and ability to raise additional capital or refinance existing debt as it matures;
• Uncertainty about the impact of existing or new stimulus legislation on the economy;
• The cost and other consequences of our participation in the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP") Capital Purchase Program ("CPP"), including the impact of existing regulation and future regulations to which we may become subject;
• Legislative, regulatory or tax changes, both domestic and foreign, that affect the cost of, or demand for, our subsidiaries' products, the required amount of reserves and/or surplus, or otherwise affect our ability to conduct business, including changes to statutory reserves and/or risk-based capital ("RBC") requirements related to secondary guarantees under universal life and variable annuity products such as Actuarial Guideline ("AG") 43 ("AG43," also known as Commissioners Annuity Reserve Valuation Method for Variable Annuities or "VACARVM"); restrictions on revenue sharing and 12b1 payments; and the potential for U.S. Federal tax reform;
• The initiation of legal or regulatory proceedings against us, and the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings, such as:  adverse actions related to present or past business practices common in businesses in which we compete; adverse decisions in significant actions including, but not limited to, actions brought by federal and state authorities and extra-contractual and class action damage cases; new decisions that result in changes in law; and unexpected trial court rulings;
• Changes in interest rates causing a reduction of investment income, the margins of our subsidiaries' fixed annuity and life insurance businesses and demand for their products;
• A decline in the equity markets causing a reduction in the sales of our subsidiaries' products, a reduction of asset-based fees that our subsidiaries charge on various investment and insurance products, an acceleration of amortization of deferred acquisition costs ("DAC"), value of business acquired ("VOBA"), deferred sales inducements ("DSI") and DFEL and an increase in liabilities related to guaranteed benefit features of our subsidiaries' variable annuity products;
• Ineffectiveness of our various hedging strategies used to offset the impact of changes in the value of liabilities due to changes in the level and volatility of the equity markets and interest rates;
• A deviation in actual experience regarding future persistency, mortality, morbidity, interest rates or equity market returns from the assumptions used in pricing our subsidiaries' products, in establishing related insurance reserves and in the amortization of intangibles that may cause an increase in reserves and/or a reduction in assets, resulting in a corresponding decrease in net income;
• Changes in GAAP that may result in unanticipated changes to our net income;
• Lowering of one or more of LNC's debt ratings issued by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on LNC's ability to raise capital and on its liquidity and financial condition;
• Lowering of one or more of the insurer financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the premium writings, policy retention, profitability of our insurance subsidiaries and liquidity;
• Significant credit, accounting, fraud or corporate governance issues that may adversely affect the value of certain investments in our portfolios requiring that we realize losses on such investments;
• The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items, including our ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain the anticipated results and synergies from acquisitions;
• The adequacy and collectibility of reinsurance that we have purchased;
• Acts of terrorism, a pandemic, war or other man-made and natural catastrophes that may adversely affect our businesses and the cost and availability of reinsurance;
• Competitive conditions, including pricing pressures, new product offerings and the emergence of new competitors, that may affect the level of premiums and fees that our subsidiaries can charge for their products;
• The unknown impact on our subsidiaries' businesses resulting from changes in the demographics of their client base, as aging baby-boomers move from the asset-accumulation stage to the asset-distribution stage of life; and
• Loss of key management, financial planners or wholesalers.

The risks included here are not exhaustive.  Our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") include additional factors that could impact our businesses and financial performance.  Moreover, we operate in a rapidly changing and competitive environment.  New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors.

Further, it is not possible to assess the impact of all risk factors on our businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.  Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.  In addition, we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this press release.  

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SOURCE Lincoln Financial Group