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SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM DEBT
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Short Term And Long Term Debt [Abstract]  
SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM DEBT

10)       SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM DEBT

 

Short-term and long-term debt consists of the following:

 

    December 31,
    2011 2010
         
    (In Millions)
         
Short-term debt:      
AllianceBernstein commercial paper (with interest rates of 0.2% and 0.3%) $ 445 $ 225
Total short-term debt   445   225
         
Long-term debt:      
AXA Equitable:      
 Surplus Notes, 7.7%, due 2015   200   200
Total long-term debt   200   200
         
Total Short-term and Long-term Debt $ 645 $ 425

Short-term Debt

 

AXA Equitable is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (“FHLBNY”), which provides AXA Equitable with access to collateralized borrowings and other FHLBNY products. As membership requires the ownership of member stock, AXA Equitable purchased stock to meet their membership requirement ($11 million, as of December 31, 2011). Any borrowings from the FHLBNY require the purchase of FHLBNY activity based stock in an amount equal to 4.5% of the borrowings. AXA Equitable's borrowing capacity with FHLBNY is $1,000 million. As a member of FHLBNY, AXA Equitable can receive advances for which it would be required to pledge qualified mortgage-backed assets and government securities as collateral. At December 31, 2011, there were no outstanding borrowings from FHLBNY.

 

In December 2010, AllianceBernstein entered into a committed, unsecured three-year senior revolving credit facility (the “2010 AB Credit Facility”) with a group of commercial banks and other lenders in an original principal amount of $1,000 million with SCB LLC as an additional borrower.

 

The 2010 AB Credit Facility replaced AllianceBernstein's existing $1,950 million of committed credit lines (comprised of two separate lines – a $1,000 million committed, unsecured revolving credit facility in the name of AllianceBernstein, which had a scheduled expiration date of February 17, 2011, and SCB LLC's $950 million committed, unsecured revolving credit facility, which had a scheduled expiration date of January 25, 2011), both of which were terminated upon the effectiveness of the 2010 AB Credit Facility. AllianceBernstein has agreed to guarantee the obligations of SCB LLC under the 2010 AB Credit Facility.

 

The 2010 AB Credit Facility is available for AllianceBernstein's and SCB LLC's business purposes, including the support of AllianceBernstein's $1,000 million commercial paper program. Both AllianceBernstein and SCB LLC can draw directly under the 2010 AB Credit Facility and management expects to draw on the 2010 AB Credit Facility from time to time.

 

The 2010 AB Credit Facility contains affirmative, negative and financial covenants, which are customary for facilities of this type, including, among other things, restrictions on dispositions of assets, restrictions on liens, a minimum interest coverage ratio and a maximum leverage ratio. The 2010 AB Credit Facility also includes customary events of default (with customary grace periods, as applicable), including provisions under which, upon the occurrence of an event of default, all outstanding loans may be accelerated and/or lender's commitments may be terminated. Also, under such provisions, upon the occurrence of certain insolvency or bankruptcy related events of default, all amounts payable under the 2010 AB Credit Facility would automatically become immediately due and payable, and the lender's commitments would automatically terminate.

 

The 2010 AB Credit Facility provides for possible increases in principal amount by up to an aggregate incremental amount of $250 million (“accordion feature”), any such increase being subject to the consent of the affected lenders. Amounts under the 2010 AB Credit Facility may be borrowed, repaid and re-borrowed by either company from time to time until the maturity of the facility. Voluntary prepayments and commitment reductions requested by AllianceBernstein are permitted at any time without fee (other than customary breakage costs relating to the prepayment of any drawn loans) upon proper notice and subject to a minimum dollar requirement. Borrowings under the 2010 AB Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum, which will be, at AllianceBernstein's option, a rate equal to an applicable margin, which is subject to adjustment based on the credit ratings of AllianceBernstein, plus one of the following indexes: London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”); a floating base rate; or the Federal Funds rate.

 

On January 17, 2012, the 2010 AB Credit Facility was amended and restated. The principal amount was amended to $900 million from the original principal amount of $1,000 million. Also, the amendment increased the accordion feature from $250 million to $350 million. In addition, the maturity date of the 2010 AB Credit Facility has been extended from December 9, 2013 to January 17, 2017. There were no other significant changes in terms and conditions included in this amendment.

 

As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, AllianceBernstein had no amounts outstanding under the 2010 AB Credit Facility or the previous revolving credit facilities, respectively.

 

In addition, SCB LLC has five uncommitted lines of credit with four financial institutions. Two of these lines of credit permit us to borrow up to an aggregate of approximately $200 million while three lines have no stated limit.

 

Long-term Debt

 

At December 31, 2011, the Company was not in breach of any long-term debt covenants.