Jefferies Financial Group Inc. hired Josh Maio from SMBC Nikko Securities America Inc., adding to its consumer banking team, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Maio will join the gaming and lodging team as a managing director later this year, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. He will be based in New York and report to Jim Walsh, chairman of consumer and retail investment banking at Jefferies, one of the people said.
Representatives for Jefferies and SMBC declined to comment.
Maio joined SMBC’s investment banking advisory group last year, where he was responsible for origination and execution in the real estate, gaming and leisure investment banking advisory business. Before that he was at Nomura covering real estate, gaming, lodging and leisure.
New York-based Jefferies has been hiring senior bankers, poaching several from Credit Suisse and Barclays Plc in recent months, taking advantage of increased turnover at its European rivals.
SMBC’s parent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., agreed in April to triple its holdings in Jefferies, saying in a statement it would boost that stake to as much as 15%. The firms said they would collaborate on future corporate and investment-banking opportunities, as well as equity sales, trading and research.
Read more: Jefferies Hires Credit Suisse Private Equity Banker Yildiz
(Updates with SMBC response in third paragraph.)
