Philipp Hildebrand, who resigned as head of the Swiss central bank in January over a currency trade by his wife Kashya, is joining asset management firm BlackRock Inc. as vice chairman.

Hildebrand will start in October and be based in London, Bobbie Collins, a spokeswoman for the worldâ??s biggest asset manager, said yesterday. He will oversee the New York-based firmâ??s relationships with institutional clients outside the U.S. and report directly to Laurence D. Fink, the chairman and chief executive officer.