Fitch Ratings, which has been trying to build up its regional presence, is opening a new Washington, D.C.-area office in McLean, Va.
The office will be manned by three current Fitch analysts. They are Christopher Valtin, a senior director who has been operating a one-man office in the Washington area for the last few years; Chad Farrington, a director and health care analyst; and Joseph Mason, a director and tax-backed analyst who covers the Northeast.
Both Farrington and Mason currently work out of the New York office. The new office will open March 1, according to Michael Belsky, managing director of Fitch's Midwest regional office.
Valtin is involved in business development and investor relations, and covers the Northeast region.
Farrington will continue to work in health care, focusing on institutions and intermediaries in the mid-Atlantic area, but will also cover other types of issues in the region.
Mason will continue to work with clients in the Northeast, as well as handling mid-Atlantic issues, but will not be limited to tax-backed securities. The McLean office will work closely with New York analysts Amy Laskey and Jessalynn Moro, who cover the mid-Atlantic states, Belsky said.
"Our goal is to have a full-service office, meaning any kind of credit can come in the door," Belsky said.
He said Fitch's usual pattern has been to first have a business development representative in a region, familiarize the region with Fitch, then start staffing the office with analysts.
Fitch last week announced that they had added two new analysts to its Chicago office -- Adrienne M. Booker, formerly with the Chicago comptroller's office, and Nelsie Smith.
