PK joins an impressive roster of recent hires in the mortgage area by Broadpoint DESCAP as the group has actively recruited to expand its platform over the last few months. The following professionals have also recently joined the Broadpoint DESCAP team: Senior salesmen John F. Miller (previously with HSBC), William C. Busch (previously with WaMu Capital Corp) and Charles Ronson (previously with Fieldstone Capital); Senior CMBS trader Patrick C. McCarthy (previously with Southwest Securities); and research analyst Phouthasinh Phimvongsa (previously with Derivative Solutions).

Lee Fensterstock, Chairman & CEO of Broadpoint, said, “With the unprecedented turbulence in the mortgage market comes unprecedented opportunity. We feel that these recent additions to an already strong Broadpoint DESCAP team will enable us to take advantage of these opportunities on behalf of our clients.”

Rob Fine, President of Broadpoint Securities, Inc., said, “The recent closing of a $50 million equity investment from an affiliate of MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners II provides Broadpoint with additional resources to grow its business, focus on its core investment products and services strengths, provide incentives to its employees, and better meet the needs of its clients. We look forward to serving our clients with our expanded financial and human capital.”

About the Company

First Albany Companies Inc., to be renamed Broadpoint Securities Group, Inc., is an independent investment bank that serves the institutional market and the growing corporate middle market by providing clients with strategic, research-based investment opportunities, as well as advisory and financing services. The Company offers a diverse range of products through its Equities division, as well as through Broadpoint Descap, a division of Broadpoint Securities, Inc., its MBS/ABS trading subsidiary, and FA Technology Ventures Inc., its venture capital division.