NEW YORK, July 28 /EMWNews/ -- Duff & Phelps Corporation

(NYSE: DUF), a leading independent financial advisory and investment

banking firm, today announced that Joseph Pimbley and Kai-Ching Lin have

joined the firm as Managing Directors in the Financial Engineering

practice. Both will be based in the New York office. Over the past six

months, Duff & Phelps has been adding senior talent to its Financial

Engineering practice in response to the increasing demand for valuations of

complex and illiquid securities, resulting from the credit crisis and the

collapse of the auction rate securities market.



    "Our Financial Engineering practice has been experiencing strong growth

in the first half of the year and we anticipate this will continue as

auditors, investors, regulators and other stakeholders increase their

scrutiny of valuations of complex investments," said Gerry Creagh,

President of Duff & Phelps. "Duff and Phelps is uniquely suited to help

clients deal with these complex valuations by providing independent

valuation expertise and best-in- class processes to protect, recover and

maximize value for our clients."



    Pimbley joins Duff & Phelps from ACA Capital Holdings where he was

Executive Vice President and Head of Institutional Risk. He was responsible

for firm-wide risk management, quantitative modeling, information

technology and data integrity. Prior to his role at ACA, Pimbley served as

Senior Vice President and Credit Derivative Product Manager of Sumitomo

Mitsui Banking Corporation Capital Markets, where he led the development of

a credit derivatives business.



    Lin joins Duff & Phelps from Credit Suisse where he was Global Head of

Quantitative Methodology. He was responsible for the valuation risk

methodology of all products traded by the bank. Prior to his role at Credit

Suisse, Lin served as a Senior Vice President at JP Morgan Chase, where he

was the Director of Mortgage Research.



    "Volatility and increased illiquidity in today's market, fueled by the

credit crunch and new financial reporting rules that expand disclosures

around fair value measurements, has financial executives struggling to

arrive at accurate valuations," added Dwight Grant, leader of the Financial

Engineering practice. "Joe and Kai-Ching's exceptional technical

backgrounds and industry experience will broaden and deepen our capacity to

assist clients with complex valuations and risk management challenges."



    In a recent survey of nearly 300 firms conducted by Duff & Phelps, 14%

of the firms stated that they expect to take a write-down in the second

quarter of 2008 as a result of their investments tied to the credit crisis.

The survey also revealed that 39% of the firms that took a write-down in

the first quarter of 2008 expect to take further write-downs in the second

quarter of 2008.



    "Corporations and Investment Funds are scrambling for valuations in

part because the adoption of FAS 157 has heightened sensitivity to the

reporting of the fair values of illiquid securities," added Michael

Athanason, leader of the Corporate Finance Consulting practice. "We

anticipate that auditors will be scrutinizing these assets more closely

than last quarter and this will accelerate write-downs more than our survey

respondents might currently expect. We have been ramping up our resources

to support this increased demand for our services."

    About Duff & Phelps



    Duff & Phelps Corporation (NYSE: DUF) is a leading provider of

independent financial advisory and investment banking services, supporting

client needs principally in the areas of valuation, transactions, financial

restructurings and disputes. With more than 1,100 employees serving clients

worldwide through offices in North America, Europe and Asia, Duff & Phelps

is committed to fulfilling its mission to protect, recover and maximize

value for its clients. Investment banking services are provided by Duff &

Phelps Securities, LLC. Duff & Phelps Securities, Ltd. is authorized and

regulated by The Financial Services Authority. For more information visit

http://www.duffandphelps.com.