SFO Merrill Lynch

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sunset Financial Resources, Inc. (NYSE:SFO), today announced the appointment of George Deehan, 62, to President and Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. A current member of Sunset Financial's Board of Directors, Mr. Deehan will continue to serve in that capacity. Mr. Deehan assumes the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer and replaces Bert Watson as President of Sunset Financial. Mr. Deehan will be based out of the Company's headquarters in Jacksonville and report directly to Bert Watson, who will continue as Chairman and CEO of Sunset Financial. A 40-year veteran of the financial services industry, Mr. Deehan was the President and Chief Operating Officer, Information Technologies Service for AT&T Capital Corporation. While at AT&T, he was responsible for overseeing $1 billion in annual finance opportunities. Previously, Mr. Deehan was President and Chief Operating Officer of Litton Financial Services. In 1985, MetLife acquired Litton, at which time he continued to serve as President and Chief Operating Officer of MetLife Capital Credit Corporation until 1991. While at MetLife, he managed net receivables of $1 billion and 150 employees. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of MetLife Capital Holdings, Inc. Commenting on the appointment, Watson stated, "George brings to Sunset extraordinary financial services experience and a strong track record of successfully implementing and executing best practices across leading organizations. As a young organization, we welcome George's expertise and look forward to operating under his proven leadership." Mr. Deehan also currently serves on the Board of Directors of NYFIX Corporation, a Nasdaq-listed technology company, where he chairs the Compensation Committee and is on the Audit Committee; and at Technology Investment Partners, a private financial leasing firm located in Detroit, Michigan. About Sunset Financial Resources Sunset Financial Resources, Inc. is a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that went public on March 17, 2004. Sunset Financial Resources seeks to deliver attractive dividend income and steady growth to its shareholders through the acquisition and management of a portfolio of high quality residential mortgage loans and well secured commercial mortgage bridge loans in the United States. Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual performance of Sunset Financial Resources, Inc. to be materially different from the performance expressed or implied by such statements. These risks include the failure of the Company to successfully execute its business plan, gain access to additional financing, the availability of additional loan portfolios for future acquisition, continued qualification as a REIT, the cost of capital, as well as the additional risks and uncertainties detailed in the Company's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: Sunset Financial Resources, Inc. CONTACT: Jeff Betros, EVP, Company Secretary, Sunset Financial Resources, +1-904-425-4351, or ; or Investors: Jeffrey Goldberger, +1-212-896-1249, , or Michael Cimini, +1-212-896-1233, , both of KCSA Worldwide

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