BlackRock is discussing a possible deal with UBS to manage some of the Swiss bank’s sub-prime mortgage securities three weeks after BlackRock chief executive Laurence Fink said the asset manager was working on “large-scale opportunities in distressed mortgage and credit areas”.

According to a report from Bloomberg that cited two anonymous sources who knew of the talks, BlackRock hopes to raise money from investors to create a vehicle to hold and sell the sub-prime securities.