Macquarie has hired a 25-year Lazard veteran with links to some of the biggest financial services firms in the US, as banks compete fiercely to add the top FIG bankers to their ranks ahead of an expected wave of financial restructurings.

The Australian bank said in a statement yesterday that Eric Hanson will join Macquarie Capital Advisors in New York as a senior managing director to expand the financial institutions group corporate advisory team.