CHICAGO, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- EVEREN Capital Corporation (NYSE: EVR)
today announced that net income for the first quarter ended March 31, 1997,
increased by more than 48 percent to $10.1 million from $6.8 million in the
1996 first quarter.
    Earnings per share for the first quarter of 1997 was $0.58, based on a
weighted average of 17,449,174 common shares outstanding during the period.
The average number of outstanding shares includes the 4.6 million shares
issued in connection with the company's initial public offering (IPO) during
the 1996 fourth quarter.  For the quarter ended March 31, 1996, pro forma
earnings per share was $0.41, calculated as if the IPO and the full allocation
of employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) shares to participant accounts had
occurred at the beginning of 1996.
    Net revenues, which include net interest, were $131.3 million for the 1997
first quarter, compared with $133.9 million a year ago.  Net revenues for the
1996 period included $9.3 million of revenues attributable to certain non-
strategic businesses which subsequently were sold or discontinued.  Excluding
these revenues, net revenues improved $6.7 million, or approximately 5.4
percent, for the first quarter of 1997 compared with 1996.
    "EVEREN's bottom-line improvement of nearly 50 percent over the 1996 first
quarter reflects a much more efficient organization attained through our
aggressive management of non-interest expenses," said Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer James R. Boris.  "We also continued to make progress during
the quarter toward our objectives of expanding EVEREN's client services and
asset management businesses.  We remain on track to increase our investment
consultant staff by 100 this year and to build on our current ownership
position in Mentor Investment Group."
    Stockholders' equity as of March 31, 1997, was $301.7 million, or
$17.61 per outstanding share.  This represents an increase of $161.9 million
from $139.8 million a year earlier.  Annualized return on average common
equity was approximately 13.7 percent for the first quarter of 1997.
    Headquartered in Chicago, EVEREN Capital Corporation is among the largest
employee-owned companies in the nation.  EVEREN Capital is the parent company
of EVEREN Securities, Inc., a full-service securities nationwide superregional
brokerage firm with approximately 140 offices in 27 states, and EVEREN
Clearing Corp., which provides securities execution and clearing services and
commodities clearing services for EVEREN Securities and other broker-dealers.
EVEREN Securities and EVEREN Clearing are members of the Securities Investor
Protection Corporation and the New York Stock Exchange.

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

                         Three months ended      Nine Months ended
                            March 31, 1997         March 31, 1996
    Revenues:
       Commissions          $ 61,811                 $ 57,431
       Principal
        transactions          23,273                   30,875
       Investment banking      9,990                   10,442
       Asset management       16,098                   14,480
       Other                   8,856                   11,722
       Interest and dividends 18,023                   18,191

       Total revenues        138,051                  143,141
       Interest expense        6,740                    9,254

       Net revenues          131,311                  133,887

    Non-interest expenses:
       Compensation
        and benefits          78,545                   86,725
       Other operating        36,545                   36,525

       Total non-interest
        expenses             115,090                  123,250

       Income before taxes    16,221                   10,637

       Income tax expense      6,119                    3,831

       Net income           $ 10,102                 $  6,806

       Net income applicable
        to common stock     $ 10,102                 $  6,806

       Weighted average
        number of common
        shares outstanding 17,449,174               16,561,298

       Net income per
        share of common
        stock                  $0.58                    $0.41(1)

       (1)  Earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 1996,
            are pro forma, calculated as if the IPO and the full
            allocation of ESOP shares to participant accounts had occurred
            at the beginning of 1996.

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