Maria Ramirez

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. provided wealth management, securities trading and sales, corporate finance and investment banking services. Merrill Lynch was a global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a range of asset classes and serve as a strategic advisor to governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company was founded in 1913 and was headquartered in Charlotte, NC.

Santander Holdings USA, Inc. is a parent holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services through Santander Bank. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Business Banking; Commercial and Industrial Banking; Commercial Real Estate and Vehicle Finance; Corporate and Investment Banking; Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries (SC); and Other. The Consumer and Business Banking segment include consumer and business banking customers, including consumer deposit, business banking, residential mortgage, unsecured lending and investment services. The Commercial and Industrial Banking segment comprises commercial lines, loans, letters of credit, receivables financing, and deposits to medium- and large-sized commercial customers. The Commercial Real Estate and Vehicle Finance segment covers commercial loans to dealers and financing for commercial equipment and vehicles. The Corporate and Investment Banking segment focuses in the investment banking, institutional sales, and trading and offering research reports of Latin American and European equity and fixed-income securities. The SC segment encompasses consumer finance company focused on vehicle finance and third-party servicing. The Other segment involves in the certain unallocated interest expense on the company's borrowings and other debt obligations and certain unallocated corporate income and indirect expenses. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

Independence Community Bank Corp. used to provide banking services. The company operated branches in New York and New Jersey. It offered community oriented services, using deposit products (checking & savings accounts, money market & retirement accounts and CDs) to originate a variety of loans, primarily residential mortgages for apartment buildings and mixed-use buildings. The company was founded in 1850 and was headquartered in Brooklyn, NY.

Founded in 1994, MFR Securities, Inc. is a broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maria Fiorini Ramirez, Inc. (also known as MFR, Inc.), a macroeconomic research firm. MFR Securities provides a variety of capital markets, sales, trading and investment banking services to institutional clients including corporate treasurers, financial institutions, GSEs, state treasurers, county treasurers, municipalities, pension managers, fund managers and insurance companies. Their sales and trading services focus on governments, agencies, municipalities, corporations, banks, insurance companies, ABS, MBS, CMBS, CPs, Yankee, Euro, domestic CDs, emerging markets and equities. MFR Securities' research focuses on providing an appraisal of U.S. and international economic conditions, central bank policy and political trends. The firm seeks to provide timely and accurate forecasts of economic activity, interest rate trends and monetary and fiscal policy developments. MFR Securities also provides technical analysis of U.S. Treasury and equity markets.

Security Benefit Life Insurance Co. engages retirement savings and income products. It provides merit-based distribution strategy that helps advisors meet their client’s retirement needs. The company was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Topeka, KS.

Arlington Capital Investors Ltd. (Arlington) is the investment management subsidiary of Arlington Capital Management (CI) Ltd. (Guernsey). The firm was founded in 1991 and is based in London. In addition to investing in a limited number of quoted companies around the themes of industrial reform, corporate restructuring and shareholder value, Arlington manages the European Renaissance Fund.