MUFG battles private equity and startups to hire U.S. bankers

Hiring for bankers in the U.S. is getting harder for Japan’s largest lender, according to a top executive who sees more competition to recruit top talent from a wider slate of companies.

It’s a challenge Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group must overcome as it focuses on growing its corporate banking presence in the U.S., the world’s largest market. That’s an area of strength for the Japanese bank, and one where it wants to add headcount, said Fumitaka Nakahama, the firm’s head of global corporate and investment banking.

“Bankers are not necessarily quitting to join other investment banks,” Tokyo-based Nakahama said in an interview. “They are also joining startups and PE funds. Destinations are changing.”