Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is expanding its U.S. investment banking unit to look more like its bigger Wall Street rivals.

The firm is pushing into areas of lending now dominated by rivals such as Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., Jon Lindenberg, Mitsubishi's deputy head of investment banking in the Americas, said Tuesday in an interview in New York. The goal is to move beyond traditional strengths such as financing energy projects and become bigger players in receivables finance and asset-based finance, a borrowing method often used by inventory-intensive firms such as retailers.

"We're evolving," Lindenberg said. "There are a lot of growth areas. We're just tapping right now where many people already exist."