Oppenheimer & Co. is expanding its investment-banking group and is looking to hire five to 10 investment bankers over the next several months.

Marshall Heinberg, head of investment banking, said Oppenheimer wants to add bankers to its roster and pick up displaced talent in the market.

Middle-market firms and boutiques have sought to pick up bankers from larger firms since the financial crisis began. In some instances experienced professionals got laid off. In others, employees started to rethink if they wanted to work at a large Wall Street bank.

Now, some large banks are announcing repayment of investments from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which will get them out from under the government's watchful eye. Despite this, some professionals don't want to work at a large bank anymore.

However, despite all this hiring, mid-tier banks haven't been pushing the bulge-bracket firms out of their spot atop the league tables. Nor are they likely to, given their different market focus on smaller firms and deals. Still, they see opportunities to use the connections and experience of the bankers they're hiring.

Oppenheimer, a unit of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (OPY), has poached professionals from bulge-bracket firms, and expects the hiring to continue.

Healthcare is one area of focus for the bank, where it expects a rise in investment-banking business. The middle-market bank is in the process of hiring one senior banker to fill out a healthcare position, possibly in medical technology, said Brian McCarthy, head of healthcare investment banking at Oppenheimer.

As the capital market improves and stocks recover, new healthcare issues will likely revive in the next six to 12 months led by life-science issuance, said McCarthy. In addition, the many healthcare services companies in the hands of private equity investors could set the stage for initial public offerings next year, after healthcare reform takes shape, he said.

The need for capital is very high at biotech companies, and there is a tremendous backlog for companies that want to issue stock, said Jaime Burnes, healthcare banker at Oppenheimer. A number of companies are looking to access the market over the next three to six weeks, he said.

Also, with some key FDA patents expiring in 2011 and 2012, some companies are thinking of ways to bolster pipelines, which could lead to acquisitions, Burnes said.

Over the past six months, the bank has built its healthcare investment-banking practice with hires from bulge bracket firms, including hiring McCarthy to head the group of 20 bankers, 15 of whom are based in New York.

McCarthy, a 20-year industry veteran, was hired from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), where he was co-head of global healthcare group. He also served as co-head of healthcare at Lehman Brothers for seven years.

Burnes joined this year from Credit Suisse (CS), with a focus on life sciences. Prior to Credit Suisse, he worked at Lehman Brothers.

In April, Daniel Cohen joined the group from JPMorgan. He most recently worked at Bear Stearns, prior to its acquisition by JPMorgan. Early in his 11-year banking career, Cohen worked with McCarthy at Bear Stearns.

Additionally, Eric Rabinowitz joined Oppenheimer as director of healthcare from JPMorgan. Previously, Rabinowitz worked at Bear Stearns for five years.

-By Jessica Papini, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2437; jessica.papini@dowjones.com