Fitch Announces Four New Hires in U.S. Public Finance.

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has added four new Directors to its U.S. Public Finance group. 'I am very pleased to welcome Alan Gibson, Sandy Matthews, Anthony Houston, and Maura McGuigan to our team,' said Mike Belsky, Group Managing Director of U.S. Public Finance. 'All four possess vital industry experience and expertise that will further strengthen the group.'

Maura McGuigan joins Fitch as a Director in Fitch's Public Finance, Tax Exempt Housing group, focusing on Military Housing, State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) debt, and other housing related transactions. Maura joins Fitch after 13 years with Moody's Investor Services', where she was most recently a Vice President and Senior Credit Officer in the Public Finance group, focusing on ratings for municipal housing debt, and was the lead analyst for HFAs in four states as well as several other local and state-level issuers. She was also a member of Moody's Public Finance Rating Committee. Prior to joining Moody's, Maura was a Product Manager with Standard & Poor's Information Services. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware.

Anthony Houston joins Fitch as a Director in the U.S. public finance group, focusing on Health Care. Prior to joining Fitch, Anthony was a Senior Associate of Health Industries Advisory with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in Chicago. He was also a Program Manager in Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery and Heart Transplant Services, as well as Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Anthony earned a BS in Biology from the University of Cincinnati, and a Masters in Health Services Administration from Xavier University. Anthony brings 11 years of previous experience in the healthcare industry and is Board Certified in Healthcare Management

Sandy Matthews is a Director in Fitch Ratings' U.S. public finance group, focusing on Higher Education, including public and private colleges and universities as well as private secondary schools throughout the U.S. and the not-for-profit sector that includes cultural institutions, foundations, and membership and research organizations. Also, she is responsible for rating U.S. charter schools. Prior to joining Fitch Ratings, Sandy was a Vice President at Neuberger Berman, A Lehman Brothers Co., where she was a buy-side analyst for over 300 tax-exempt credits totaling $1.0 billion in three closed-end municipal funds. Before Neuberger Berman she was an Assistant Vice President with Radian Asset, a bond insurance company, in the Risk Management Division. Sandy earned a BA in Political Science from Queens College and MPA from New York University. She is a member of Municipal Analyst Group of New York and is on the Board of the Municipal Bond Women's Club of New York.

Alan Gibson joins Fitch as a Director in the Tax-Supported/Water and Sewer group, located in Fitch's San Francisco office. Prior to joining Fitch, Alan was a budget, legislative, and program analyst for Harvey M. Rose Accountancy Corporation and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget Analyst's Office. He also served in the New Zealand Ministry of Health and New Zealand State Services Commission. Alan received a BA from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand and a Master of Public Administration at San Francisco State University.

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