From NewYorkTimes. Story by Chad Bray

Barclays said on Monday that it had hired a team from the boutique firm CMC Capital as it looked to strengthen its investment bank, one of two divisions that are the focus of the lender’s strategy as it tries to turn around its performance.

The British lender said its investment bank would hire nine people based in London and Milan from CMC Capital, including Carlo Calabria, CMC’s founding partner.

Calabria is former vice chairman of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s global corporate and investment banking division and the former co-head of European mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse. He’ll join Barclays as chairman of mergers and acquisitions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Barclays said.

He will work closely with Pier Luigi Colizzi, the head of mergers and acquisitions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the bank said.

The hires come as James E. Staley, who joined Barclays as CEO in December, said last week that the lender would focus its strategy around two divisions: its British consumer bank and its corporate and investment bank.

The lender, which last week reported a loss for 2015, has also announced plans to cut its stake in its African business, scale back its operations in Asia and end its physical presence in several countries.

The additions to its investment bank follow a hiring freeze put in place by Staley when he joined the bank. It has reduced its head count by about 5,700 jobs.

Read more at NewYorkTimes.