Top Blackrock job for former central banker

PHILIPP Hildebrand, who quit as chairman of the Swiss central bank in January over a currency trading scandal, is joining BlackRock to nurture the world’s largest money manager’s major client relationships and reinforce its role as a financial crisis troubleshooter.

The appointment reflects BlackRock’s ambition to raise its profile in Europe’s fragmented funds industry, where it competes with scores of firms that have a tight hold on their domestic markets via relationships with local banks. It also fits with the investment house’s efforts to forge a reputation for advising governments and regulators, a role often played by big investment banks such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

Since the euro-zone crisis erupted, BlackRock has advised policy makers on the restructuring of Irish and Greek sovereign debt, echoing its work with the US Federal Reserve following the collapse of American International Group.

Mr Hildebrand’s appointment is expected to aid BlackRock’s expansion in this lucrative business.

He was appointed vice-chairman of the Financial Stability Board, the regulatory task force for the Group of 20 economies, just months before the currency trading scandal broke.

He also relinquished that post upon leaving the Swiss National Bank (SNB). BlackRock is not the first fund manager to sign up a former central banker. Five years ago, Allianz’s Pacific Investment Management hired former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan as a consultant on economic issues.

Mr Hildebrand will be based in BlackRock’s offices in London and will take charge of the firm’s institutional client relationships in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific from October. His team will focus on guiding big clients on investment against a backdrop of uncertain central bank policy, political change and turbulent markets. Reuters