Financial Pioneer Lewis Ranieri to Receive Honorary
Doctorate of Humane Letters at C.W. Post Commencement

Brookville, NY -- A leader in the financial services industry and the “father of the securitized mortgage market,” Lewis Ranieri will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the 49th Commencement ceremonies at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 13, 2007.

Mr.Ranieri is the prime originator and founder of the Hyperion private equity funds (“Hyperion”) and chairman and/or director of various other non-operating entities owned directly and indirectly by Hyperion. He also serves as chairman, chief executive officer and president of Ranieri & Co., Inc., a private investment advisor and management corporation. In addition, Mr. Ranieri is chairman of American Financial Realty Trust; Capital Lease Funding, Inc.; CA, Inc.; Franklin Bank Corp.; and Root Markets, Inc., an Internet-based marketing company.

Prior to forming Hyperion, Mr. Ranieri was vice chairman of Salomon Brothers, Inc. (“Salomon”) where he helped to develop the capital markets as a source of funds for housing and commercial real estate, established Salomon’s leadership position in the mortgage-backed securities area and also led the effort to obtain Federal legislation to support and build the market. At Salomon, Mr. Ranieri was responsible for the firm’s activities in the mortgage, real estate and government-guaranteed areas.

Regarded as an expert and innovator in both the mortgage and capital markets, Mr. Ranieri has served on the National Association of Home Builders Mortgage Roundtable continuously since 1989. In recognition of his dedication and lifelong achievements in the housing industry, Mr. Ranieri was inducted into the National Housing Hall of Fame. He also is a recipient of the lifetime achievement award given by the Fixed Income Analysts Society, Inc. (FIASI), and was subsequently inducted into its Hall of Fame for outstanding practitioners in the advancement of the analysis of fixed-income securities and portfolios. In November 2004, BusinessWeek magazine named him one of “the greatest innovators of the past 75 years,” and in 2005, he received the Distinguished Industry Service Award from the American Securitization Forum.

Mr. Ranieri acts as a trustee or director of Environmental Defense and The Metropolitan Opera Association and is chairman of the board of the American Ballet Theatre. He is an active member of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and, together with Bishop William Murphy, co-founded the Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation to ensure the continuance of Catholic Schools on Long Island.

The C.W. Post Class of 2007 includes 964 baccalaureate degree candidates, 1,832 master's degree candidates, 14 graduates receiving the Psy.D. in clinical psychology and 5 receiving the Ph.D. in information studies. This year, C.W. Post’s commencement ceremonies also include graduates from Southampton College and the Southampton Graduate Campus of Long Island University.

For more information call the C.W. Post Commencement Hotline at 516-299-3242 or visit www.liu.edu/cwpcommencement

Posted: May 10, 2007