(Adds further comments)

NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Bond fund management company Pacific Investment Management Co. is recommending senior, investment grade corporate bonds in select companies and in banks supported by the U.S. government, the company said on Monday.

"We're seeing the most attractive opportunities in high-quality, senior, investment grade corporate bonds," said Mark Kiesel, managing director and global head of the corporate bond portfolio management group with Pimco, in a U.S. Credit Perspectives interview on the company's website.

Yields of about 7 or 8 percent for U.S. investment-grade corporate debt "look particularly compelling because we believe equity returns will be low over the next several years," Kiesel said. Treasury yields, by comparison, are unattractive because they are still near historical lows, he added. On Monday, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yielded 2.86 percent, above its five-decade low of 2.04 percent hit in December.

"An investor can go up in the capital structure by owning senior bonds, and get higher return potential than equity holders are getting at the bottom of the capital structure," Kiesel said.

Within investment grade corporate bonds, Pimco is investing in sectors such as pipelines, utilities and health care and in sectors that are likely to benefit from the government's economic and financial rescue efforts, he said.

In the financial sector, Kiesel recommended major "'national champion' banks receiving policy support (which) are the linchpin of efforts to start circulating credit again."

Pimco is avoiding borrowers that are highly leveraged, he said. "We think that it's too soon to move into either equities or high-yield corporate bonds," Kiesel said.

Recovery rates for bondholders are likely to be very low as the impact of a severe economic recession continues to be felt, he warned.