Imperial Capital Continues the Expansion of Its Core Fixed Income Sales & Trading Business

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 30, 2012) - Imperial Capital Group, LLC today announced the Q1 2012 growth of its fixed income sales & trading business designed to drive the franchise's ambitious growth initiatives in the US and abroad. The expansion includes the addition of five fixed income sales and trading professionals in Imperial Capital, LLC, its US-based investment banking platform, and Imperial Capital (International) LLP, its recently formed UK affiliate.

"We have focused Imperial's fixed income sales and trading growth on hiring seasoned professionals to join our existing core business," said Jason Reese, CEO of Imperial Capital Group. "In so doing, we have produced a 35% aggregate increase in our global fixed income sales and trading force expanding from 43 professionals at 2010 year end to 67 after the first quarter of 2012. Our employee base now has 210 in the US and 7 in the UK."

Imperial Capital, LLC's ("Imperial") High Grade/Hybrid Sales & Trading Group expanded by three Sales & Trading professionals in 2012: Keith Dionis, David Gomez and David Patterson. Mr. Keith Dionis joined Imperial as a Senior Vice President and Sales Trader based in New York. Mr. Dionis brings to Imperial over twenty years of fixed income experience where he spent the majority of his career as a Bond Trader with AIG. Most recently, Mr. Dionis was a Managing Director with Suntrust Robinson, Humphrey, Inc.

Mr. David Gomez is a Managing Director in Imperial's High Grade/Hybrid Sales Group in New York. Prior to joining Imperial, Mr. Gomez worked for Chapdelaine Credit Partners, BNP Paribas, UBS and he began his full time career at RBS. Mr. Gomez earned a Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York, Binghamton.

Mr. David Patterson is a Managing Director in Imperial's High Grade/Hybrid Sales Group in Boston. Mr. Patterson began his career at Merrill Lynch, where he worked for 12 years in investment grade sales. Prior to joining Imperial, Mr. Patterson was a Director with Credit Suisse. Mr. Patterson earned a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University.

Imperial Capital (International) LLP ("Imperial UK") added two Sales & Trading professionals focused on the credit spectrum for its European franchise: Dennis McKenna and José Fontes. Mr. Dennis McKenna is a Senior Vice President of Imperial UK. Prior to joining Imperial UK, Mr. McKenna was a Vice President and Trader of GSO Capital Partners for seven years where most recently he was trading high yield and special situations for GSO Capital Partners International in the UK after working for their US-based entity in New York. Mr. McKenna began his career in the securities business with JP Morgan Securities Inc in New York where he was an Analyst in Trading Credit Risk Management and later with Goldman Sachs New York as a Senior Associate in the Equities Division/Global Securities Services. Mr. McKenna earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Manhattanville College.

Mr. José Fontes joined Imperial UK as a Vice President. Most recently, Mr. Fontes was a Fixed Income and Derivatives Sales professional with UBS Securities and prior to this was with Credit Suisse as an Analyst in the Private Client Services Group. Mr. Fontes earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nottingham.

About Imperial Capital, LLC
Imperial Capital, founded in 1997, is a full-service investment banking firm with offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Boston and Chicago. The firm currently employs over 205 professionals and offers a wide range of proprietary products and services to institutional investors, middle market companies, and private equity firms. Imperial Capital provides institutional clients research and sales and trading of high yield and distressed debt securities, bank debt, convertible bonds, preferred stocks, and equities. The firm provides middle market companies and financial sponsors with capital markets, merger and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring and recapitalization advisory services. More information about Imperial Capital can be found at www.imperialcapital.com.

About Imperial Capital (International), LLP
Imperial Capital International, founded in 2011, is an affiliate of Imperial Capital, LLC with an office in central London. Complementing Imperial Capital's existing fixed income sales and trading franchise, Imperial Capital International expanded the Imperial Capital franchise into the UK. The company focuses on selling the entire credit spectrum and capital structure to its European institutional clients.