INCOME TAXES (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Reconciliation of income tax expense (benefit)

The actual income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 differed from the “expected” income tax expense for those periods (computed by applying the United States federal corporate tax rate of 35 percent to income before income tax expense) as follows:

	Three months ended   March 31,
($ in thousands)	2015			2014
Computed "expected" income tax expense	$	10,478		$	5,211
Increases (decreases) in tax resulting from:
Tax-exempt interest income	(698		)	(944		)
Dividends received deduction	(258		)	(220		)
Proration of tax-exempt interest and dividends received deduction	143			175
Other, net	(58		)	72
Total income tax expense	$	9,607		$	4,294