Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is looking to build a capital-markets platform in Canada, with plans to hire as many as 10 people in Toronto to manage bond deals and stock sales by early next year.
It's a significant shift for a Japanese bank that's kept a low profile in the country for decades.
"It's a natural extension of our business as a relationship bank," Craig Gardner, head of Canadian corporate banking, said in an interview at the firm's Toronto office. "Our strategy isn't to become a book runner or lead arranger on every Canadian deal — we'll pick our spots — but we want to be meaningful to customers."