(Bloomberg) — The US Senate confirmed Ben Black to lead the International Development Finance Corp., placing the son of billionaire Leon Black at the helm of a lending agency that has become central to several of President Donald Trump’s major initiatives.
Black has made it clear he wants to connect Wall Street with the obscure federal agency he’s preparing to lead, and has explored opening an office in New York City, which would put it closer to the workers it’s seeking to hire as well as the investors it plans to attract.
The $60 billion government agency makes loans and investments in overseas development projects. Black has said he wants to pursue more ambitious deals with Wall Street investors as part of his strategy for the agency, while telling Senate lawmakers in his June confirmation hearing that the agency should be careful to ensure it will “never be crowding out private capital.”
The younger Black was among a slate of 107 nominees confirmed at the same time by the Republican-held Senate. Others approved include Trump aide Sergio Gor to be US ambassador to India and former National Football League star Herschel Walker to be US envoy to the Bahamas.
Anjani Sinha, Trump’s pick for Singapore envoy whose struggles in his confirmation hearing went viral in Southeast Asia, was likewise voted through, as was Jacob Helberg, a former adviser at Palantir Technologies Inc., who will serve as under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.
