Barclays Capital Develops U.S. Business

Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays, aims to hire 50 people by the end of this year to develop a leveraged finance business in the United States.

Under the leadership of Joe McGrath and Rick Van Zijl, the former Goldman Sachs veterans, the company is spreading into higher-risk activities, reports the Times. The leveraged finance business plans to lend to non-investment grade companies, as well as underwriting high-yield bonds and offering mezzanine finance.

The group hopes to gain from corporate relationships built by high-yield colleagues in Europe. By building a U.S. leveraged finance business, BarCap hopes to develop a global business in this area. The bank expects the energy and power sector to be an initial area of focus in the U.S., tapping into the strength of the bank's commodities work. It will look to underwrite deals with credit ratings ranging from low single B to high CCC.