A Wall Street boutique is about to go on a hiring spree

Greenhill & Co., a boutique bank helmed by Morgan Stanley veteran Scott Bok, has an aggressive hiring plan.

The firm expects to add 10 to 15 managing directors in 2017, adding to its current count of 68, according to a client note by Credit Suisse's Ashley Serrao.

Here is Serrao:

"Management was optimistic on the hiring front, noting the possibility of adding 10-15 gross new MDs in 2017, with the potential for 1-2 further hires to round out 2016 contingent on compensation discussions. After starting the year with 74 client facing MDs on January 1st 2016, Greenhill's MD count stands at 68 (including Mr. Greenhill and excluding the COO/CFO and CLO) as the loss of MDs to clients, rivals or a Senior Advisory role has more than offset recent recruiting efforts (4 MDs YTD). Expect the 10-15 goal to include 3-4 internal promotes and feature hires from both U.S. and European banks, with the latter presenting more recruitment opportunities."

The hires could help Greenhill to boost its coverage in industries such as health care and financial services in the US, and also expand in Canada and Latin America. Foreign hiring is a good use of overseas cash, according to Serrao, who noted 71% of Greenhill's cash is held outside of the US.

Greenhill has had a relatively quiet 2016, after a strong 2015. It finished the first half of the ranked 10 among boutique M&A advisers, having finished 2015 in fifth place among boutiques. Hiring could help address that.

"While we think aggressive hiring is the right move for the franchise, retention will be equally important," the note said.

Greenhill recently ranked 7 in Vault.com's annual list of the best Wall Street banks to work for.