Dec 9 (Reuters) - Boutique advisory firm Solomon

Partners is launching a new dealmaking unit that will focus on

financial services and has hired a senior investment banker to

help lead its efforts to win business from the industry.

Solomon Partners, which has a strategic partnership with

French financial firm Natixis, has tapped former

Houlihan Lokey banker Arik Rashkes to lead the newly

formed group, the New York-based firm told Reuters on Monday.

A veteran investment banker with more than 25 years of

experience, Rashkes spent nearly 10 years at Houlihan Lokey ( HLI ),

where he was most recently co-head of U.S. financial services.

Solomon Partners now covers a dozen industries, including

consumer, media and technology, and healthcare, as under CEO

Marc Cooper it looks to serve more clients and win market share

against other investment banks.

The firm is aiming to hire more mergers and acquisitions

(M&A) bankers over the next 18 to 24 months to cover different

areas within the financial services industry, Rashkes told

Reuters in an interview.

"We're looking to grow in the insurance and insurance

services industries. When you look at opportunities in sectors

such as asset management and wealth management, I'm hoping to

build the franchise around those areas too," he said.

The latest moves come as Wall Street gears up for a jump in

M&A activity, as dealmakers anticipate a more pro-business tone

and favorable regulatory environment with the return of

President-elect Donald Trump to the White House in January.

"Putting politics aside, I'm very bullish on M&A activity

going forward," said Rashkes. "Private equity is driving a good

amount of transactions, especially in the upper middle markets

space," he said, citing it as an area of strength for the firm."

(Reporting by David French in New York; Editing by Muralikumar

Anantharaman)