Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, will become a senior adviser to the hedge fund Citadel Investment Group, The New York Times reported.
Bernanke, who handed the reins of the US central bank to Janet Yellen last year, will offer his analysis of global economic and financial issues to Citadel's investment committees and also meet with the hedge fund's investors around the globe, the newspaper said.
Bernanke's 2006-2014 stint at the US central bank was marked by the brutal financial crisis and a frustratingly slow recovery that prompted him to drive rates to near zero and launch three rounds of bond purchases to stimulate the economy.
Bernanke told The Times that he was sensitive to the public's anxieties about the "revolving door" between Wall Street and Washington and chose to go to Citadel, in part, because it "is not regulated by the Federal Reserve and I won't be doing lobbying of any sort."
Bernanke would be paid an annual fee but would not own a stake in the $25 billion hedge fund or receive a bonus based on its performance. His arrangement with Citadel is not exclusive, and he could take on other consulting roles, the newspaper reported.
Reuters could not immediately reach Citadel or Bernanke for comment outside regular US business hours.
Bernanke last month launched a blog hosted by Brookings Institution, where he is a distinguished fellow in residence. "Now that I'm a civilian again, I can once more comment on economic and financial issues without my words being put under the microscope by Fed watchers," he wrote in his introductory blog post.
Bernanke will remain a full-time fellow at the Brookings Institution, and the new role represents his first somewhat regular job in the private sector since stepping down as Fed chairman in January 2014, the newspaper said.
(Reporting by Supriya Kurane in Bengaluru; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)
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