The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, June 16, edition that Jefferies Securities is wading deeper into the Canadian capital markets pool. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that Jefferies has won regulatory approval from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada to lead initial public offerings for Canadian companies and participate in secondary stock issues. The IPO market has been moribund this year, while the secondary financing environment has been robust. Secondaries are up 20 per cent year-to-date to $26-billion. Canadian investment banking head Steve Latimer says, "Coupled with our existing high yield, lending and M&A capabilities for Canadian clients, Jefferies is now positioned to deliver the full range of capital markets and advisory solutions." Jefferies's institutional sales and research staff will be based in the United States and internationally. Breaking into the secondary financing market in Canada will difficult for Jefferies. It will face a competitive disadvantage similar to what many Canadian boutiques, such as GMP Capital and Canaccord Genuity Group, grapple with every time they go head-to-head with a bank to win underwriting business.