FIG Partners, one of the nation's premier investment banking and research firms specializing in community banks, today announced that Troy N. Carlson, who has more than 20 years of community banking experience, has been named Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate and Private Client Services.

Carlson will lead the FIG team providing corporate advisory services to banks and thrifts, along with private client services to bank directors, executives and employees. Carlson helped establish the first corporate and private client services for community banks, first at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) and then at Sterne Agee.

Carlson will work with Senior Vice President Mike Acampora, who has 30 years of experience advising community bank boards, shareholders and executives.

"Troy Carlson is a highly experienced executive who has served as a strategic advisor to community banks and thrifts for his entire career," said FIG CEO Geoffrey Hodgson. "Troy shares the entire FIG team's passion for working with community banks. Together, Troy and Mike are an outstanding team that will help financial institutions achieve their strategic objectives."

Prior to joining FIG, Carlson launched the Corporate & Private Client Services desk for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), where he worked for 15 years. After KBW, he worked for Sterne Agee for two years, providing corporate and private client services to his existing community bank clients, as well as Sterne's existing bank clients and their executives. After 9/11, he went to New York to help the KBW rebuilding efforts. Carlson attended the University of Iowa and graduated from Coe College with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.

About FIG Partners

FIG Partners LLC is one of the nation's premier investment banking and research firms specializing in community banks. Founded in 2003, FIG's award-winning research team follows more than 120 bank stocks in the U.S. The firm's investment banking unit has raised more than $2.8 billion in equity and advised on more than $3.3 billion in M&A since 2007. FIG's trading and sales team serves as market maker for more than 800 bank stocks and has relationships with 400 institutional investors. FIG's fixed-income unit offers a full range of trading, advisory and valuation services. Headquartered in Atlanta, FIG has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Jersey and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, call 404.601.7200 or visit www.figpartners.com.