Financial Times/StarMine Names Sandler O’Neill Analyst Richard Repetto ‘Analyst of the Year’

Additional Sandler O’Neill Analysts Recognized by Financial Times/StarMine and Wall Street Journal ‘Best on the Street’

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P., a full-service investment banking firm specializing in financial services companies, today announced that Richard Repetto, a Principal at Sandler O’Neill, has received the Financial Times/StarMine “Analyst of the Year” Award, which honors his significant career achievements as a leading research analyst and his excellence in investment analysis. Mr. Repetto also ranked first among analysts for estimations in the diversified financial services sector and second among analysts for estimations in the capital markets sector. He was previously recognized by the Financial Times/StarMine in 2009, as the No. 1 industry estimator covering the diversified financial services sector for 2008.

“I am really proud of the great reputation and following Rich has developed for his coverage of the exchanges and broker dealers, with particular emphasis on electronic trading,” said Mark Fitzgibbon, Principal and Director of Research at Sandler O’Neill. “Rich’s recognition by the Financial Times/StarMine is a prime example our firm’s commitment to providing our clients with research containing fresh perspectives, independent thinking and deep industry knowledge.”

“I am honored to have been named Analyst of the Year,” said Mr. Repetto. “Throughout my career, and with the assistance of great teams, I have sought to provide clients with the best possible research and analysis. Over the past several years, there have been a lot of exciting things happening in the space and I have enjoyed following these developments closely for our clients and for our firm.”

In addition to Mr. Repetto, four additional Sandler O’Neill analysts were ranked by the Financial Times/StarMine, including:

• Daniel Arnold – first place stock picker for the commercial banking sector,
• Devin Ryan – first place stock picker for the capital markets sector,
• Michael Kim – third place stock picker for the capital markets sector, and
• Paul Newsome – third place earnings estimator for the insurance sector.

Sandler O’Neill today also noted the recognition of two of the firm’s research analysts by The Wall Street Journal. In its annual “Best on the Street” analyst survey, The Wall Street Journal ranked Managing Directors Timothy O’Brien and Brad J. Milsaps as the nation’s No. 2 and No. 5 banking analysts in 2009, respectively.

“The recognition of so many of our analysts’ contributions to our clients and to our research team is well-deserved and further underscores Sandler O’Neill’s longtime reputation for quality coverage in the banking sector,” Mr. Fitzgibbon concluded.

About Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P.

Founded in 1988, Sandler O’Neill + Partners is a full-service investment banking firm dedicated to providing comprehensive, innovative advisory and transaction execution services to the financial industry. The firm specializes in strategic business planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, mutual-to-stock conversions, investment portfolio and interest rate risk management, fixed income securities transactions and mortgage finance restructurings. Sandler O’Neill also is a market maker in hundreds of financial stocks and publishes equity and fixed income research focused on selected banks, thrifts and insurance companies, credit card companies, investment banks, asset managers, specialty finance companies, e-finance companies, real estate investment trusts and transaction execution companies. Additional information about Sandler O’Neill can be found on the firm’s website at www.sandleroneill.com

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Source: Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P.