Thomas Chen Joins Piper Jaffray as Co-Head of the Financial Institutions Investment Banking Group

NEW YORK, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piper Jaffray & Co. is pleased to announce that Thomas Chen has joined the firm as co-head of the Financial Institutions Investment Banking Group. Chen will be the first group head to be based in the Piper Jaffray New York office and will help manage the firm's initiatives to be a leader in serving clients in the financial institutions industry.

"We are thrilled to have Tom join us to help drive our financial institutions investment banking business, where we strive to deliver creative and tailored solutions for our clients," said Jon Salveson, head of Investment Banking at Piper Jaffray. "Tom has more than 13 years of experience in serving the investment banking needs of financial institutions and has developed extensive client relationships and an impressive M&A track record during his career. We look forward to having Tom's knowledge, leadership and strategic focus at Piper Jaffray. He will be a tremendous asset to our firm."

Chen joins the firm from Banc of America Securities, where he was a managing director and head of the Diversified Financial Services Group. He began his career in the Financial Institutions M&A Group at Merrill Lynch & Co., where he spent 10 years and was a managing director. In his career, Chen has completed more than 35 M&A transactions totaling more than $80 billion in deal value and has also completed numerous debt and equity capital raising transactions on behalf of his financial institution clients.

Chen graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in economics from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., where he is currently a member of its board of trustees. He received his master's of management degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

Piper Jaffray & Co. is the chief operating subsidiary of Piper Jaffray Companies , a focused securities firm dedicated to delivering superior financial advice, investment products and transaction execution within selected sectors of the financial services marketplace. The company operates through two primary revenue-generating segments: Capital Markets and Private Client Services. Piper Jaffray & Co. has served corporations, government and non-profit entities, institutional investors and the financial advisory needs of private individuals since 1895. With headquarters in Minneapolis, Piper Jaffray has approximately 2,900 employees in 107 offices in 23 states across the country and in London. For more information about Piper Jaffray, visit us online at http://www.piperjaffray.com/ .

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