Jefferies hires former Lehman MBS/ABS salesmen

NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - Investment bank Jefferies Group (JEF.N) continued its expansion in mortgage- and other asset-backed securities with three hires in the Chicago office of its Jefferies & Co unit, it said on Wednesday.

Jefferies named Marc DeFife managing director, from Barclays Capital, where he has worked since that firm's acquisition of Lehman Brothers. DeFife will lead MBS and ABS sales in Chicago.

It also hired Elizabeth Harper as a senior vice president of MBS and ABS sales in Chicago, bringing the regional office to five. Harper worked at Lehman and was hired from Barclays, Jefferies said.

The firm last month hired at least five others in MBS and ABS, including Andrew Peisch, former head of structured credit products at Deutsche Bank, as co-head of MBS and ABS banking and origination. It now has more than 55 staff in MBS and ABS trading, sales and origination staff in the United States and London. (Reporting by Al Yoon; Editing by Dan Grebler)