Cohen & Company Hires Frank Viola As ABS CDO Portfolio Manager.

PHILADELPHIA -- Cohen & Company, a leading investment management firm, announced today that, effective immediately, Frank Viola has joined the firm as a Managing Director and Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) Portfolio Manager at Strategos Capital Management, LLC. Strategos is the ABS Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) management unit of Cohen & Company.

Previously, Mr. Viola served as a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers ("MLIM"), one of the largest asset managers worldwide with approximately $500 billion in assets under management, where he served as Lead Portfolio Manager for the organization's ABS CDO Program, as well as a member of the fixed income senior portfolio management team that managed over $25 billion in assets. Throughout his 15 years at Merrill Lynch, Mr. Viola also served as Treasurer of ML Bank and Trust, a Portfolio Strategist, and an Asset/Liability Actuary. Mr. Viola, 42, is a graduate of Penn State University, a Chartered Financial Analyst, and an Associate Actuary.

Chris Ricciardi, Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company, said, "We are delighted to welcome Frank Viola to our ABS CDO business, which continues to grow and expand significantly with each passing year. We anticipate that Cohen & Company will complete at least eight ABS CDO transactions in 2006, a significantly larger volume when compared to 2005, and a validation of the progress we are making towards our goal of becoming a leader in the ABS CDO management space through our Strategos unit. Frank's hiring reflects our commitment to continuing to build our team and provide our Strategos business with the necessary resources to achieve our goal of ABS CDO market leadership."

Alex Cigolle, Chief Investment Officer of Strategos, said, "We are very pleased to have Frank joining our team. He brings with him a great deal of experience and an outstanding reputation for providing investors with strong performance and a high level of service. With $8 billion of assets under management, Strategos has made significant progress in its goal to be a leading ABS CDO manager. The addition of Frank is the next step in our pursuit of that vision."

About Cohen & Company

Cohen & Company is a leading investment management firm organized in three divisions: Asset Management, Capital Markets and Investment Banking, and Research. With offices in Philadelphia, New York and Paris, Cohen & Company employs over 100 employees worldwide, and serves a diverse international network of institutional and individual clients. For more information about Cohen & Company, we encourage you to visit www.cohenandcompany.com.