We expect the capital position of Lincoln National Corp.'s insurance operations to weaken in 2009 and 2010 as a result of the holding company's need for operating dividends to service its obligations and the subsidiaries' elevated investment losses. We are revising the outlook on Lincoln National Corp. and its subsidiaries to negative from stable. We are affirming the ratings on the companies. On May 6, 2009, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its rating outlook on Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) and its insurance operations (Lincoln) to negative from stable. At the same time, we affirmed our 'A-' counterparty credit rating on LNC and our 'AA-' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on most of LNC's operating subsidiaries (see ratings list).
