Bear Stearns expands Asset-Backed Securities effort; adds two senior managing directors.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 1996--Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. announced today that Lesley Goldwasser and Tracy van Eck have joined the firm's Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) Group as senior managing directors.

Lesley Goldwasser, formerly a managing director and co-head of CS First Boston's asset-backed securities effort, will co-head Bear Stearns' securitization team with Senior Managing Director Patricia Jehle. Ms. Goldwasser brings to Bear Stearns over eleven years of experience in this growing segment of the fixed income market.

Tracy van Eck joins Bear Stearns also from CS First Boston where she was the No. 1 Institutional Investor-ranked fixed income analyst for asset-backed securities for four consecutive years. Ms. van Eck will be in charge of ABS research at Bear Stearns, an integral part of the firm's No. 1 Institutional Investor-ranked fixed income research effort.

Commenting on the recent hires, Warren Spector, executive vice president and head of Bear Stearns' Fixed Income Division, said, "Asset-backed finance has become one of the most important areas in the fixed income business with annual issuance in excess of $100 billion. These securities provide a valuable funding source for our clients and have become an important asset class for investors. I am thrilled to have Lesley and Tracy join the firm, both of whom are recognized leaders in the asset-backed business. Bear Stearns has targeted this area as part of our ongoing client-driven strategy to fully integrate our fixed income, capital markets and investment banking capabilities."

Kevin Finnerty, senior managing director and head of the Mortgage Department, added that "our commitment to building the ABS Group is in direct response to the needs of our extensive institutional investor base. The addition of these two highly experienced and successful professionals will extend the thriving business that Pat Jehle has developed, utilizing the same resources that have driven our No. 1-ranked mortgage department."

Ms. Goldwasser and Ms. van Eck join a team of professionals committed to the origination, underwriting and trading of all non-mortgage securitized assets. Bear Stearns is a major participant in the domestic asset securitization market -- securitizing assets such as car loans, credit card receivables, personal loans, computer leases, boat loans, recreational vehicle loans, time-share obligations and film rights. This team, supported by the firm's Financial Analytics and Structured Transactions Group, places Bear Stearns in the top ranks of investment banks, both in terms of number of professionals as well as depth and breadth of experience.

Bear Stearns is a major underwriter and distributor of mortgage- and asset-backed securities and derivative products. Client transactions in all phases of securitization are facilitated by the integration of mortgage-backed generic trading, derivative product issuance and trading, and the largest fixed income sales force in the securities industry.

Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., a leading worldwide investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm, is the major subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC). With approximately $7.1 billion in total capital, Bear Stearns serves governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company's business includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, institutional equities and fixed income sales and trading, private client services, asset management, securities clearing, securities lending and custody services. Headquartered in New York City, the company has over 7,500 employees located in domestic offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC; and an international presence in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Geneva, Hong Kong, Karachi, London, Madrid, Manila, Paris, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

CONTACT: Bear Stearns

Hannah Burns, 212/272-2395

Maura Gaenzle, 212/272-4445