Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. / FBR

About Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc.

1001 N. 19th St., Arlington, Va. 22209
www.fbr.com | 703-312-9500 | Founded: 1989

Industry: Financial Services | Category: Public Companies

Clearly the last year has been both challenging and disappointing," FBR chief executive Eric F. Billings said late last year in releasing the company's financial results. Weighing down the company are its portfolio of mortgage investments, direct investments in mortgage banking companies and its Florida mortgage banking subsidiary, First NLC Financial Services, which specializes in mortgages for high-risk borrowers.
In December, FBR said federal regulators had accepted its $7.8 million offer to settle charges that it engaged in insider trading in 2001, when it bet that the stock price of a client company, CompuDyne, would decline. That followed an announcement by FBR in November that it would pay $4.5 million to settle with CompuDyne.
Emanuel Friedman, former chairman of the firm, agreed to pay almost $1.3 million for his role in the episode. He was held responsible as a top executive at FBR who allegedly knew about the firm's trading, but he was not accused of personally selling shares on confidential information.
FBR recently sold nearly one-third of its investment banking and securities brokerage operations to outside investors for about $242 million. The sale was part of the firm's strategy of putting some distance between its profitable investment banking operations and its mortgage business. The deal created FBR Capital Markets, which contains the firm's investment banking, asset management, brokerage and research businesses.

Chairman and CEO: Eric F. Billings

President and COO: J. Rock Tonkel Jr.

2006 Financial Data

Revenues: $1,007,904,000 | Net Income: $-67,275,000
Asssets: $13,352,518,000 | Earnings Per Share: $-0.39
Stockholder Equity: $1,171,045,000 | Annual Dividend: $0.50
Total employees: 3,019 | Local employees: 570