Newport Beach-based bond manager Pacific Investment Management Co. could look to manage mortgages and other troubled assets as part of the government’s bailout plan, Bill Gross told CNBC Friday.
“We (Pimco) are interested in managing this pool of money and we expect to be called,” said Gross, co-chief investment officer for Pimco.
The Bush administration Friday outlined a plan to buy up bad mortgages and other debt from banks.
Details of the plan still need to be worked out.
Pimco and other investment managers could be tapped to oversee loans taken over by the government.
Best known as a bond investor, Pimco recently said it plans to invest as much as $5 billion in mortgage bonds with a new fund.
In May, it was reported that Pimco bought $2.5 billion worth of subprime mortgage bonds from Israel’s Bank Hapoalim Ltd.
Pimco avoided buying subprime mortgage bonds at the height of their popularity a couple of years ago.
It manages $830 billion in assets as part of Munich-based insurer insurer Allianz SE.
The government bailout plan could benefit Pimco, which earlier in the week was reported to be in for a loss on bond investments with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy after Washington refused to facilitate a bailout.
Pimco and others could lose an estimated $86 billion from Lehman bond holdings, according to a Bloomberg story.
Co-Chief Executive Mohamed El-Erian said Friday the government’s debt bailout plan may be too “late to repair all the damage that has been suffered by the economy and the financial system.”
