News Release

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FBR Capital Markets Corporation (Nasdaq:FBCM) (FBR Capital Markets), a leading investment bank serving the middle market, today announced the addition of four veteran analysts to its Research platform. Alex Potter has joined FBR Capital Markets' London-based subsidiary Friedman, Billings, Ramsey International Ltd. as Senior Vice President within Financial Institutions Research. Eric Tracy has joined FBR Capital Markets' Consumer group as Senior Vice President in Arlington, Virginia. Marc de Croisset has joined the firm's Energy & Natural Resources group in New York as Vice President. Chris Wetherbee has joined the firm's Diversified Industrials group in New York as Vice President.

"We've invested significantly in our Research platform over the past year, and we continue to add exceptionally talented, senior professionals to our team," said David M. Khani, CFA, Senior Managing Director and Director of Research at FBR Capital Markets. "We've been in a position to provide our analysts with attractive, entrepreneurial opportunities which permit them to make immediate and substantial contributions to our franchise. We will continue to grow our platform and add coverage that creates additional value for our clients and that is complementary to our broader brokerage and capital markets capabilities."

FBR Capital Markets' Research group is known for its differentiated research and ability to identify unique investment opportunities and generate added value for clients. FBR Capital Markets' analysts are regularly ranked among the best on the Street by The Wall Street Journal and StarMine / Financial Times.

Mr. Potter broadens FBR Capital Markets' coverage of European Financials and expands the firm's London-based European Research platform launched earlier this year. With 12 years of experience in equity research covering financial institutions, Mr. Potter joins FBR Capital Markets from Collins Stewart, an independent financial advisory group headquartered in London. Prior to that, he was an analyst on Lehman Brothers' highly-regarded European Financials team. He previously held positions with ABN AMRO, Commerzbank, BNP Paribas and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Mr. Potter received a Bachelor of Science from Durham University.

Mr. Tracy adds coverage of Branded Apparel, Footwear & Retail companies to FBR Capital Markets' Consumer group. He was previously Senior Vice President within BB&T Capital Markets' Consumer Softlines Research group. Prior to that, he was a member of SG Cowen Securities' M&A and Corporate Finance team. He began his career in investment banking at Wachovia Securities and was later an associate with Banc of America Securities. Mr. Tracy earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Washington and Lee University and holds an MBA from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.

Mr. de Croisset has joined FBR Capital Markets' Energy & Natural Resources group to introduce coverage of Utilities. He most recently covered U.S.-regulated electric utilities as an analyst with Macquarie Capital and earlier covered the sector at Citigroup. He began his career at UBS as a financial analyst within its Investment Banking group. Mr. de Croisset earned a Bachelor of Arts in physics from the University of Chicago, completed a Master of Arts in chemistry at Harvard University and later received an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Mr. Wetherbee has joined FBR Capital Markets' Diversified Industrials group with coverage of the Airfreight, Surface & Marine Transportation sector. He began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1999 and was most recently a vice president in Transportation Equity Research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Mr. Wetherbee earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland and holds an MBA from the Fordham University Graduate School of Business.

FBR Capital Markets Corporation (Nasdaq:FBCM) provides investment banking, merger and acquisition advisory, institutional brokerage, prime brokerage and research services through its subsidiary FBR Capital Markets & Co. Services provided in the U.K. and Europe are provided by Friedman, Billings, Ramsey International, Ltd. FBR Capital Markets focuses capital and financial expertise on seven industry sectors: consumer; diversified industrials; energy & natural resources; financial institutions; insurance; real estate; and technology, media & telecom. Asset management services are provided by FBR Investment Management, Inc., and mutual funds are provided by FBR Fund Advisers, Inc.; both companies are subsidiaries of FBR Capital Markets Corporation. FBR Capital Markets is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with offices throughout the United States and in London. For more information, please visit www.fbrcapitalmarkets.com.

The FBR Capital Markets Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6405

CONTACT:
Media
Troy D. Gravitt
+1-703-469-1004
tgravitt@fbr.com

Investors
Bradley J. Wright
+1-703-469-1080
fbcmir@fbr.com