Putnam Lovell NBF, the specialist financial institutions investment bank, has hired two former Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) bankers to its London team as part of a drive to boost its European profile.

Andrew Gazitua joins the firm, which was acquired by National Bank Financial of Canada last year, as a managing director, while Filippo Foco becomes a director. Both previously worked in CSFB's financial institutions team; Gazitua was among several financial institutions bankers to leave the Swiss bank in 2001.