BMO Capital Markets has bulked up its Canadian debt capital markets group with a couple of new hires, the investment banking arm of Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) said Thursday.

Steve Aubé joins the firm as managing director, and becomes its first debt capital markets professional to be based in Montreal. James McHale is appointed director and joins BMO’s Toronto team.

Aubé was most recently at Citibank Canada in Montreal where he was co-head of the Canadian corporate derivatives business. Prior to his 11 years at Citibank, he spent five years in BMO Capital Markets’ investment and corporate banking group.

McHale joins from Peak Ridge Capital, a private investment management firm in Boston. He spent eight years with J.P. Morgan in New York in the leveraged finance group, and also formerly worked with BMO Capital Markets in the firm’s investment and corporate banking and debt capital markets groups.