Eric Banks

Prior to founding Tolis Advisors in 2007, Mr. Banks spent his career at Bear, Stearns & Co., from October 1996 to January 2006, where he eventually served as a Managing Director Principal and the Co-Head of CDO Trading.  Mr. Banks was a pioneer in the trading of distressed CDOs, and was one of the most profitable traders in the market.  He joined Bear Stearns in the Financial Analytics and Structured Transactions Department (FAST) in Database Management, responsible for Treasuries, Corporates, Emerging Markets, Indices, and Mortgage Derivatives.  In 1997, Mr. Banks became one of the firm’s first CDO structurers and was deeply involved in the origination of some of the earliest transactions issued in the marketplace, with particular emphasis on sovereign Emerging Markets collateral.  He also developed, along with the Head of ABS Research, Bear Stearns’ CDO research infrastructure.  Mr. Banks’ research was among the first to help propel the CDO market to greater transparency, as well as increased investor understanding of structural risk.  Mr. Banks began valuing and trading CDOs in 1998 before an active secondary market existed.  Mr. Banks was dedicated to the evolution of a structured finance secondary market during its infancy, as well as constructing innovative structures and financing solutions for clients.  Mr. Banks developed a valuation framework which became one of the broadly accepted core methodologies for pricing CDO tranches.  Prior to Bear Stearns, Mr. Banks was a Fixed Income Analyst at Global Advanced Technology Corporation, a company which specialized in Fixed Income Analytics.  Mr. Banks received a B.A. in Economics, with a minor in Mathematics, from the University of Pennsylvania.