Hovde GroupLLC added senior investment banker Jason Blumberg and senior equityresearch analyst Brian Zabora to its investment banking and research teams, thecompany said April 12.

Blumberg joins the firm as a managing director, while Zaborajoins as a director.

Blumberg will provide investment banking services, includingM&A advisory and capital markets solutions, principally to depositoryinstitutions in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and will be based in New YorkCity. Zabora will be responsible for equity research coverage of banks andother financial services companies across the U.S.

Prior to joining Hovde, Blumberg was a member of thedepository investment banking team at Jefferies LLC since its inception in 2010. Zabora mostrecently was a vice president in the research department at -owned ,covering banks across several regions of the U.S. and specialty financecompanies for the past eight years.