BlackRock’s Hildebrand is reportedly involved in UBS and Credit Suisse talks

March 18 (Reuters) – BlackRock (BLK.N) Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand is involved in talks as Swiss officials try to put together a deal for UBS Group (UBSG.S) to acquire Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

Asked about the report, BlackRock spokesman Ryan O’Keeffe said in a phone interview that “Philip has no formal involvement in these discussions whatsoever.”

Hildebrand, who joined New York-based BlackRock Asset Management in 2012, previously chaired the board of the Swiss National Bank. According to his bio on the BlackRock website, in this capacity he was also a member of the Financial Stability Board, where he was named vice president in 2011.

Sources told Reuters that UBS Bank is considering acquiring its besieged counterpart Credit Suisse, which may allay fears that a crisis in the latter bank may destabilize the global financial system.

Earlier on Saturday, BlackRock said it had no plans or interest in acquiring Credit Suisse, after a report that it was working on a bid to counter UBS.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston) Editing by Nick Zieminski

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