A Ukraine reconstruction bank, facilitated by Kyiv with assistance from BlackRock (BLK.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), is expected to be operational within the year, according to BlackRock Vice-Chairman Philipp Hildebrand. In an interview at Davos, Hildebrand revealed that BlackRock was engaged in discussions to secure sovereign funding from development banks or major donor nations to mitigate risks associated with private investments.
Kyiv had enlisted the support of BlackRock and JPMorgan the previous year to establish a fund aimed at garnering public capital to attract private investments for Ukraine’s extensive reconstruction, projected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Hildebrand emphasized the importance of being prepared for deployment with preliminary commitments from donor countries, underscoring the necessity of reducing risks to OECD levels for mobilizing BlackRock assets, including pension funds.
“We want to be ready to deploy with at least soft commitments from donor countries,” said Hildebrand, noting the requirement to bring down risks to OECD levels for BlackRock assets, which include pension funds, to be activated. He emphasized that the allocated funds could not be invested in ventures with very high risks.
U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, Penny Pritzker, who participated in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, pointed out lingering uncertainties regarding current possibilities versus future prospects in a postwar scenario. Pritzker highlighted the fundraising efforts led by JPMorgan and BlackRock, mentioning early interest from forward-leaning investors willing to take on more risk compared to established pension funds. She also noted individual investors expressing significant interest.
Zelenskiy’s office disclosed that he met with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, along with other senior JPMorgan executives, top management from BlackRock, and executives from Bridgewater Associates, Carlyle Group, Blackstone, Dell, and ArcelorMittal during the Davos meetings. Zelenskiy expressed the importance of attracting private capital for Ukraine’s reconstruction, expressing hope that JPMorgan would play a crucial role in drawing in a substantial number of global investors and corporations.
