WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday approved the application of the boutique investment firm Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. to become a bank holding company with the acquisition of Money Management Associates of Bethesda, Md., and its subsidiary, FBR National Bank.
The Fed approved a simultaneous application by Friedman Billings to become a financial holding company for banks, insurance firms, and securities companies.
The deal for the $26.4 million-asset bank, which is about one-tenth the size of Friedman Billings, furthers the Arlington, Va., firms plan to diversify.
In an interview last year, Webb Hayes, head of the private-client group at Friedman Billings, said that achieving a well rounded structure at his company would require commercial banking powers and fiduciary powers.
