Virus Needs 2008-Style Leadership, Says BlackRock’s Hildebrand

(Bloomberg) -- Coherent U.S. leadership is urgently needed to prevent the panic in markets from spiraling into another 2008-style financial crisis, according to BlackRock Inc. Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand.

“Whether we have the U.S. leadership that we did have in 2008 to sort this out, that’s a big question,” Hildebrand said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “I think this is one of the concerns that sits in an overarching way over the whole system right now. Where is the leadership, where is the U.S. leadership, which was one of the defining features of the crisis in 2008?”

Stocks recovered some ground on Tuesday after the deepest equity rout since the financial crisis the previous day. While U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to downplay the impact of the rapidly spreading coronavirus that’s killed almost 4,000 and seen Italy locked down, the twin worries of an oil price war and worsening virus outbreak remain front and center for investors.

A crisis is still preventable if policy makers are willing and able to step up with a coordinated fiscal and monetary response, said Hildebrand. In 2008, “we had a very present, very strong, very focused leadership team in the U.S. that really coordinated this event,” he said.

Read More: Biggest Asset Managers Say Fed May Need Help to Tackle Crisis

Trump said that he plans to announce “very dramatic” actions to support the economy at a press conference on Tuesday following discussions with lawmakers.

BlackRock on Monday said looser monetary policy won’t be enough to offset the market slump. Through its research division BlackRock Investment Institute, it said that the virus-induced plunge requires a “decisive effort between fiscal and monetary policy” to bolster reeling companies and households.

--With assistance from Francine Lacqua and Tom Keene.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Bourke in London at cbourke4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Chris Bourke

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