BlackRock - The World's Largest Asset Manager To Open New Office in Budapest

In a joint press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and BlackRock - BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager - managing director Patrick Olson, the global investment management company announced setting up an “innovation centre”, a new office centre in Budapest.

What is BlackRock?

BlackRock was founded in 1988 by eight entrepreneurs who wanted to start a very different company: one that combined the best of financial services with cutting edge technology. One that focused many diverse views on a shared vision. BlackRock manages more than 5 trillion dollars. Founded in 1988, the New York-based company has approximately 13,000 employees in 30 countries around the world, of whom nearly 4,000 work in the firm’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.

Why was Budapest chosen?

”At BlackRock we are building something great in Budapest, our new global technology and Innovation hub, where we want to shape a culture in which challenge, development and innovation happen every day. Our mission as an organisation is to create a better financial future for our clients and BlackRock Budapest will enable this, through a relentless drive to make ourselves and our communities better”, can be read on the company website.

Mr. Olson added that BlackRock had chosen Budapest because of its

• education system,
• quality of infrastructure,
• security, quality of life,
• the government’s commitment to the enterprise

The Hungarian government is providing the company HUF 280 million (approx. 900,000 euro, $972,000) financial support for training purposes to support new hires. Melanie Seymour, the director of BlackRock Budapest, said that hiring would start in Q1 2017.

They will recruit from Hungary’s largest universities, and expect to attract some highly-skilled Hungarians working in the UK back to Budapest, Ms. Seymour added. According to the Foreign Minister and Mr. Olson, the new innovation centre will create more than 500 jobs in medium term in the Hungarian capital.

BlackRock’s new innovation office will handle technological development of financial and business processes, develop new methodology to handle client data and creative marketing task as well as creative marketing, Mr. Szijjártó explained at a press conference. He also described the deal as the “biggest achievement” of Hungary’s new economic policies.

Via MTI, reuters.com and Hungary Matters, https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/en-hu/about-us