NEW YORK, May 14, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P., a full-service investment banking firm specializing in financial institutions, announced today the appointment of Michael Dion, 33, as Vice President. In this capacity, Mr. Dion will act as a senior equity analyst for property/casualty insurers, as well as specialty insurance carriers.
Mr. Dion will report directly to Mark Fitzgibbon, Principal in Sandler's Equity Research Division.
"Michael's wealth of experience will prove to be an invaluable asset to our existing team," said Fitzgibbon. "We are looking forward to significantly expanding our coverage of the insurance industry by adding Michael."
Mr. Dion comes to Sandler directly from ABN Amro, where he was part of the Global Financial Institutions Group. Prior to this, he spent three years at Hoefer & Arnett as a senior equity analyst in the property and casualty insurance area. Earlier, he was an analyst at the Industrial Bank of Japan. Mr. Dion holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, and a M.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.
Founded in August 1988, Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P., has expanded from seven original partners to a staff of 200 professionals. The firm specializes in strategic business planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, mutual-to-stock conversions, investment portfolio and interest rate risk management, fixed income securities transactions, loan portfolio restructurings and equity research, sales, and trading for financial institutions.