KBW Names Seth Bair Co-Head of US Insurance Investment Banking Practice

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), a full-service, boutique investment bank and broker-dealer that specializes in the financial services sector, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF), today announced that Seth Bair has been appointed Co-Head of the US Insurance Investment Banking Practice, leading alongside Joseph Beebe at the firm’s New York headquarters.

Messrs. Bair and Beebe have worked closely together for nearly 12 years in building KBW’s track record of success in the insurance and asset management sectors by delivering the firm’s leading M&A advisory and capital markets solutions to clients. Mr. Bair was one of the original hires when the insurance group was formed and has worked on some of the most important transactions announced by the group.

In his new role, Mr. Bair will be responsible for leading the team along with Mr. Beebe in providing a full range of advisory and capital raising services to insurance and asset management companies. He will report to Peter Wirth and Rick Maples, Co-Heads of the Investment Banking Group at KBW.

"Seth has played a significant role in building the culture of the practice and delivering results for our clients. We are proud to have him join our investment banking management team," commented Peter Wirth. “We are confident that together Seth and Joe will continue to provide unparalleled guidance to our clients and will be instrumental in driving the strategic expansion of our insurance practice,” added Rick Maples.

About KBW

KBW LLC, a Stifel company, operates in the U.S. and Europe through its broker dealer subsidiaries, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. and Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (“SNEL”), also trading as Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Europe (“KBW Europe”). Over the years, KBW has established itself as a leading independent authority in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking and specialty finance sectors. Founded in 1962, the firm maintains industry-leading positions in the areas of research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions as well as sales and trading in equities securities of financial services companies.