Firm's Fourth Quarter Net Income Improves 37 Percent to $13.3 Million

    CHICAGO, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- EVEREN Capital Corporation (NYSE: EVR)
today reported net income of $46.6 million for the year ended December 31,
1997, an increase of 32 percent over 1996 operating results of $35.2 million.
    Net income for 1996 included a non-recurring after-tax gain of $30.2
million from the sale of a subsidiary as well as an extraordinary after-tax
charge of $2.9 million related to the early retirement of debt.  Including the
one-time gain and the extraordinary charge, EVEREN's 1996 net income was $62.5
million.
    Earnings per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 1997,
improved to $2.70 compared with pro forma earnings per diluted common share of
$2.12 in 1996.  Pro forma earnings per diluted common share for the year ended
December 31, 1996, was calculated as if the company's initial public offering
(IPO) and the full allocation of employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) shares
to participant accounts had occurred at the beginning of 1996, and excludes
the one-time gain and the extraordinary charge.
    EVEREN Capital Corporation has implemented Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards 128, "Earnings per Share," which is effective for fiscal
periods ending after December 15, 1997.
    Net revenues, which include net interest, of $593.1 million for 1997
increased by $56.5 million, or 11 percent from $536.6 million in 1996.  Net
revenues for 1996 included revenues attributable to certain non-strategic
businesses which were sold or discontinued during 1996.  Excluding these
revenues, net revenues for 1997 increased by approximately $81.1 million, or
16 percent from the prior year.
    According to EVEREN Capital Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer James R. Boris, "The fourth quarter culminated a highly successful
year for EVEREN, during which we met or exceeded virtually all of our
financial objectives while continuing to pursue growth in each of our
strategic businesses.  Revenues from commissions grew by nearly 19 percent in
1997 and we realized revenue gains of 24 percent from both our asset
management and investment banking activities.  Combined with our first quarter
1998 acquisition of Principal Financial Securities, we are looking forward to
this year with great anticipation."
    EVEREN reported that commissions rose 19 percent, to $268.0 million for
the year ended December 31, 1997, compared with $225.8 million a year ago.  At
year-end, the number of EVEREN investment consultants had increased to 1,333
from 1,220 at December 31, 1996.  The firm's asset management revenues
improved 24 percent to $70.9 million in 1997 from $57.3 million the prior
year, while investment banking revenues from underwriting and advisory fees
also rose 24 percent to $69.5 million for the year from $55.9 million in 1996.
Net interest increased to $48.5 million in 1997, up 21 percent from
$40.1 million a year ago.
    Non-interest expenses of $518.1 million in 1997 increased from $479.0
million for the year ended December 31, 1996.  Excluding the non-recurring
items contained in last year's results, EVEREN's pretax margin for 1997
improved to 12.6 percent from 10.7 percent for 1996, with the after-tax margin
widening to 7.8 percent in 1997 from 6.6 percent last year.
    Stockholders' equity as of December 31, 1997, was approximately $334.9
million, or $19.56 per outstanding share.  This represents an increase of
$45.9 million from $289.0 million a year earlier.  Return on average common
equity was approximately 14.9 percent for the year ended December 31, 1997.

    Fourth-quarter results up sharply
    Net income for the fourth quarter of 1997 reached $13.3 million, an
increase of 37 percent over l996 fourth quarter net income of $9.8 million.
Earnings per diluted common share for the fourth quarter of 1997 improved to
$0.76, compared with pro forma earnings per diluted common share of $0.58 for
the year-ago period.  Pro forma earnings per diluted common share for the
quarter ended December 31, 1996, was calculated as if the company's IPO and
the full allocation of ESOP shares to participant accounts had occurred at the
beginning of 1996.
    Net revenues increased 25 percent to $168.1 million for the quarter, from
$134.2 million in the fourth quarter of 1996.
    Commissions improved 24 percent to $71.1 million for the fourth quarter of
1997 from $57.3 million a year ago.  Investment banking revenues from
underwriting and advisory fees rose 67 percent to $28.8 million for the
current quarter from $17.2 million a year ago.  Asset management revenues
increased 35 percent to $20.0 million in the 1997 fourth quarter from
$14.8 million the prior year.
    Interest and dividend revenues were $22.8 million for the three months
ended December 31, 1997, compared with $18.3 million reported a year ago.  Net
interest increased to $12.7 million in 1997, up 11 percent from $11.5 million
a year ago.
    Non-interest expenses were $146.6 million in the current period, compared
with $119.2 million for the 1996 fourth quarter.  EVEREN's pretax margin for
the quarter ended December 31, 1997, improved to 12.8 percent from 11.2
percent for the fourth quarter of 1996, with the after-tax margin of 7.9
percent in the 1997 fourth quarter comparing favorably with the 7.3 percent
after-tax margin reported in the 1996 fourth quarter.
    Annualized return on average common equity was approximately 16.2 percent
during the fourth quarter of 1997.
    EVEREN Capital Corporation is among the largest employee-owned companies
in the nation.  Headquartered in Chicago, EVEREN Capital is the parent company
of EVEREN Securities, Inc., a national full-service brokerage firm with
approximately 135 offices nationwide; EVEREN Clearing Corp., which provides
securities execution and clearing services and commodities clearing services
for EVEREN Securities and other broker-dealers; and Principal Financial
Securities, Inc., a full-service brokerage firm with more than 50 branch
offices in the Southwest, Midwest and West.  EVEREN Securities, EVEREN
Clearing and Principal Financial Securities are members of the Securities
Investor Protection Corporation, the New York Stock Exchange and other
principal exchanges.
    Except for historical information, statements included in this release may
constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements involve a number
of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially, as discussed in the company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.

                            EVEREN CAPITAL CORPORATION
                                 AND SUBSIDIARIES
                      Consolidated Statements of Operations
             Three months and Year ended December 31, 1997, and 1996
                                   (unaudited)
                 (in thousands, except share and per-share data)

                                    Three months               Year
                                 ended December 31       ended December 31
                                 1997         1996       1997         1996
    Revenues:
    Commissions                 $71,138     $57,348    $267,948    $225,798
    Principal transactions       26,789      23,557     102,892     115,291
    Investment banking           28,769      17,229      69,544      55,889
    Asset management             20,025      14,804      70,884      57,293
    Other                         8,670       9,775      33,304      42,217
    Interest and dividends       22,761      18,328      85,180      74,067
      Total revenues            178,152     141,041     629,752     570,555
      Interest expense           10,072       6,850      36,653      33,920
      Net Revenues              168,080     134,191     593,099     536,635

    Expenses:
      Compensation and benefits 100,635      80,170     352,471     331,389
      Other operating            45,922      38,993     165,639     147,591
        Total non-interest
         expenses               146,557     119,163     518,110     478,980
        Gain on sale of
         subsidiary                  --          --          --      50,181
    Income before taxes and
     extraordinary charge        21,523      15,028      74,989     107,836
    Income tax expense            8,194       5,266      28,431      42,438
    Income before extraordinary
     charge                      13,329       9,762      46,558      65,398

    Extraordinary charge on
     early retirement of debt,
     net of income taxes
     of $1,561                      --          --          --       (2,900)

    Net income                  $13,329       $9,762    $46,558     $62,498(A)

    Net income applicable
     to common shares           $13,329                 $46,558

    Weighted average
     common shares(B)
      Basic                  16,095,889              16,115,489
      Diluted                17,447,941              17,223,281

    Net income per
     common share(B)
      Basic                       $0.83                   $2.89
      Diluted                     $0.76                   $2.70

    (A) Includes a $50.2 million pre-tax ($30.2 million after-tax) gain on
        sale of subsidiary.
    (B) Basic and diluted earnings per share are presented in accordance with
        SFAS 128, which the company adopted in the fourth quarter of 1997.
        Prior periods have been excluded, as such historical per-share
        information is not indicative of the company's continuing capital
        structure.

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