BlackRock eyes private deals as banks shy away

London

BLACKROCK Inc is on the prowl for energy and infrastructure projects in the United States, Mexico and Asia that its institutional clients can invest in, Mark McCombe, head of BlackRock's institutional business, said last week.

The asset manager, the world's largest, is trying to build a name for itself in private financing deals to attract and please yield-hungry clients such as US pension funds, Mr McCombe said. He sees particular opportunity now because banks that had funded those types of projects are constrained from doing so by post-crisis regulations.