Piper Jaffray Now Offers Clients $50 Million or More in FDIC Insurance Through CDARS

MINNEAPOLIS--(Business Wire)--
Piper Jaffray, a leading international middle market investment bank, now offers
clients access to $50 million or more in FDIC insurance through the Certificate
of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS).

A national deposit placement service, CDARS operates over a network of 3,000
member banks. This program achieves higher FDIC coverage by deploying large
deposits into multiple federally insured banks. For example, when an investor
deposits $5 million, the funds are disbursed over 51 network banks, providing
full insurance of both principal and interest.

"The overall uncertainty in the markets has led many investors to seek ways to
increase their investments in FDIC-insured product," said Tom Wright, head of
the Corporate & Venture Services group at Piper Jaffray. "Ultimately for our
clients, the key advantage of the CDARS product is the efficient access to large
blocks of FDIC-insured CDs with yields that tend to be superior to that of
Treasuries."

Piper Jaffray offers CDARS to corporations, public entities, partnerships,
LLC`s, trusts, non-profits, fiduciaries and individuals. Clients can choose to
target seven specific maturity dates, or may ladder their maturities to meet
their cash requirements. The investor receives a consolidated financial
statement showing all deposits, interest rates and maturity dates. In addition,
tax reporting is made simple with a single year-end tax statement.

About Piper Jaffray

Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE: PJC) is a leading, international middle market
investment bank and institutional securities firm, serving the needs of middle
market corporations, private equity groups, public entities, nonprofit clients
and institutional investors. Founded in 1895, Piper Jaffray provides a
comprehensive set of products and services, including equity and debt capital
markets products; public finance services; mergers and acquisitions advisory
services; high-yield and structured products; institutional equity and
fixed-income sales and trading; and equity and high-yield research. Piper
Jaffray headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with offices across
the U.S. and in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Piper Jaffray & Co. is the
firm's principal operating subsidiary. (www.piperjaffray.com)

Since 1895. Member SIPC and FINRA.
© 2009 Piper Jaffray & Co., 800 Nicollet Mall, Suite 800, Minneapolis, Minnesota
55402-7020

Piper Jaffray Companies
Rob Litt, 612-303-8266

Copyright Business Wire 2009