MUFG Continues Expansion of Leveraged Finance Business with New Hires for U.S. Sales

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has hired Marc Lavine and Diane Wright as Directors in MUFG's Leveraged Finance Sales group. Both will be based in New York and report to Timothy Fischer, Head of Leveraged Finance Sales in the Americas, who joined the company in January.

Mr. Lavine joined the bank on April 13, and Ms. Wright will start on June 29. In their newly created roles, they will be responsible for supporting the distribution of leveraged loans and high-yield bonds in partnership with the bank's Capital Markets team. 

"Despite the recent volatility afflicting leveraged finance in the wake of COVID-19, MUFG is committed to expanding its platform for our clients in this area. Leveraged finance remains vital for a range of non-investment grade companies to receive financing, and it's a business that we believe holds long-term growth prospects for us," says John Karabelas, Head of Institutional Investor Sales in the Americas. "Marc and Diane bring impeccable credentials and valuable experience that will serve our expansion through this challenging time, as the market recovers, and well into the future."

Most recently, Mr. Lavine served as Director of Capital Markets with Simon Baron Development. Previously, he was a Managing Director in the Leveraged Finance Sales Group at Deutsche Bank. Ms. Wright will join MUFG from RBC Capital Markets and was previously at Credit Suisse, having held the position of Director in High Yield, Distressed and Leveraged Loan Sales at both institutions.

"With plans to double our headcount in leveraged finance sales before the year is out, we are staying the course in maintaining our full lifecycle business model—from origination to distribution and secondary trading—toward becoming a top corporate-banking debt house in the Americas across the credit spectrum," says Bill Mansfield, Head of Global Markets for the Americas. 

MUFG is the largest publicly-traded bank in the world and the fifth largest by assets, with approximately $2.9 trillion.1 The bank provides a full suite of financing and fixed-income advisory services to corporate clients, financial institutions and private-equity sponsors, thus serving borrowers in addition to financing investment opportunities.

MUFG had originally established a strong foundation in the investment-grade sector and later extended its coverage to include leveraged finance. It was the eighth largest underwriter of U.S. investment-grade bonds in 2019 and in the first quarter of 2020, according to Refinitiv. The bank has advanced significantly in the high-yield bond league tables and was the 11th largest underwriter of U.S. high-yield bonds in the first quarter of 2020, according to Bloomberg.

About MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation

The U.S. operations of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), one of the world's leading financial groups, has total assets of $341.4 billion at December 31, 2019. As part of that total, MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation (MUAH), a financial holding company, bank holding company and intermediate holding company, has total assets of $170.8 billion at December 31, 2019.  MUAH's main subsidiaries are MUFG Union Bank, N.A. and MUFG Securities Americas Inc. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. provides a wide range of financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations. As of December 31, 2019, MUFG Union Bank, N.A. operated 349 branches, consisting primarily of retail banking branches in the West Coast states, along with commercial branches in Texas, Illinois, New York and Georgia. MUFG Securities Americas Inc. is a registered securities broker-dealer which engages in capital markets origination transactions, domestic and foreign debt and equities securities transactions, private placements, collateralized financings, and securities borrowing and lending transactions. MUAH is owned by MUFG Bank, Ltd. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. MUFG Bank, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Canada.

Visit https://www.unionbank.com or www.mufgamericas.com for more information.

About MUFG

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world's leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with more than 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with over 2,700 locations in more than 50 countries. The Group has over 180,000 employees and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing. The Group aims to "be the world's most trusted financial group" through close collaboration among our operating companies and flexibly respond to all of the financial needs of our customers, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. MUFG's shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York stock exchanges. For more information, visit https://www.mufg.jp/english.

1 As of December 31, 2019, and according to the USD/JPY exchange rate at that date, when assets totaled ¥314.4

Press contact:

Assaf Kedem 
Direct: 212-782-4926 
akedem@us.mufg.jp