Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) announced the expansion of its newly formed Direct Lending business with the hiring of Claude Mattessich and Will McCarthy. Both Mattessich and McCarthy have joined the bank as Managing Directors and Senior Originators.
 
Mattessich will be based in New York City, while McCarthy will be based in Chicago. Both will report to Christopher Freeman, Managing Director, in the Direct Lending group.

Last month, MUFG announced the formation of a Direct Lending group that will focus on providing loans to the bank's private equity sponsor clients to support their portfolio company LBO and recapitalization transactions. The team will be led by Matt Maley, who joined MUFG in 2018 to run sponsor coverage. Freeman reports to Mr. Maley.

"We are excited to welcome Claude and Will to our team, as we continue to focus our efforts on serving our sponsor clients," Christopher Freeman, Managing Director in the Direct Lending group, said. "Claude's and Will's extensive expertise in successfully structuring tailored capital solutions, and strong regional industry relationships made them complimentary additions to our business."

With nearly 30 years of professional experience, Mattessich joins MUFG from CIT Bank, where he focused on managing relationships with private equity firms, investment banks, capital markets, turnaround advisors, and boutique capital providers on financing alternatives. Prior to that, Mattessich held various roles at Capital One Financial Corp., Merryll Lynch, and Webster Financial Corp.

McCarthy joins MUFG from LBC Credit Partners, where he was part of the Middle Market Leveraged Finance Group, responsible for generating unitranche and senior secured, private-equity owned, leveraged lending opportunities for middle-market funds in the Midwest, as well as in Boston and Connecticut markets. His additional past experience includes roles at ORIX Corporation, ING Capital, and GE Commercial Finance.