Hovde Financial Opens Permanent Palm Beach County Office

Chicago, IL – January 27, 2004 – Hovde Financial LLC is pleased to announce the opening of the firm’s investment banking office in its permanent location in Palm Beach County, Florida. This office, headed by Nick Barbarine, Principal and Director of East Coast Investment Banking, is the firm’s fourth location dedicated to providing investment banking services for community and regional banks, thrifts, insurance companies, mortgage companies, lending companies, and other specialty finance companies.

Steven D. Hovde, President and CEO of Hovde Financial, remarked, "Hovde Financial, an established leader in financial services industry investment banking, has deep ties to community and regional banks in Florida. Our new permanent location in Palm Beach County makes strategic sense as it will enable us to better serve our clients in Florida and the southeastern U.S. on a long-term basis.” Further, Nick Barbarine commented, “given the activity and positive trends in the Florida market, it was important for Hovde Financial to open a permanent office in this region to better service the diverse needs of our clients on a daily basis.”

Other Hovde Financial LLC offices are located in Chicago, IL, Washington, DC, and Newport Beach, CA. Services provided by all four Hovde Financial LLC offices include: mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings, capital raising alternatives, and other strategic advisory services. The Palm Beach office of Hovde Financial may be reached at (561) 279-7199.

Founded in 1987, the Hovde organization is headquartered in Washington, DC, with additional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and Palm Beach. Hovde has a unique focus on the financial services industry, particularly in the areas of Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Private Equity.