MF Global has hired 20 new staff to expand its fixed income business and introduced a new institutional sales group.

The new fixed income group hires include seven former UBS employees. Others have joined from RBC Capital Markets, Nomura, Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank.

In New York, MF Global has named MacDonald Budd, formerly managing director of US securities at UBS, as head of cash trading, while Brett Benza joins as head of interest rate sales. Benza was previously a managing director of hedge fund sales at UBS.

Michael Wieczorek has joined as the head of finance and short term trading. He previously headed the US dollar funding, repo trading and short dated interest rates businesses at Nomura Securities.

In London, Andreas Gianopolis becomes the head of US Treasury trading from Nomura International, where he held a similar position. David Mudie has been appointed as European head of fixed income prime brokerage. He joins from Newedge USA.

Bernie Dan, chief executive officer of MF Global, said the brokerage was seeking to “pursue primary dealer status”.

MF Global said the new institutional sales group will be based in Chicago and New York and will include Eric Eiers, Darrell McConnell, Mark Psaltis and Kyle Unterseher. The four have joined as senior vice-presidents from UBS Securities, where they worked in the exchange-traded derivatives business unit.