Former UK health secretary and chancellor Sajid Javid has held talks with investment house Pimco about his career after politics, according to people familiar with the matter.
Javid held preliminary discussions with Manny Roman, Pimco chief executive, and Andrew Balls, the group’s chief investment officer for global fixed income, said one of the people.
The discussions are at an early stage and there is no guarantee that they will lead to a job, added the people, saying that Javid is also talking to banks and other investment groups about his next move.
Javid on Friday announced he was standing down as MP for Bromsgrove at the next election.
Based in Newport Beach, California, Pimco is the world’s largest fixed income manager. Balls is the brother of Ed Balls, the former shadow chancellor, and the asset manager also counts former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown as a member of its global advisory board.
As well as serving as the UK’s first non-white chancellor and health secretary, Javid has also held posts including home secretary, culture secretary and business secretary.
The former banker is the most high-profile Conservative politician to announce a departure from Westminster so far in this parliament.
Pimco declined to comment. A spokesperson for Javid said: “Sajid of course continues to have strong relationships in business, finance and other sectors. But he has not yet considered any roles with any organisations.
“Today’s decision to stand down means that he can start to explore, over the next two years, what the next phase of his career will involve.”
Javid’s early career in banking included Chase Manhattan in New York before he became a managing director in the emerging markets team at Deutsche Bank.
He rejoined the US bank, now known as JPMorgan, in an advisory role after quitting as chancellor in 2020. But he gave up his position on the bank’s European advisory council last year to become health secretary.
Following his departure from the health post in summer 2022, Javid has conducted a series of lucrative speeches within the banking sector.
According to the latest register of MPs’ interests, he earned £30,000 for a speech in London to executives at HSBC in September. He is set to receive a £36,000 payment from Deutsche Bank for a speech to clients in October.
In a letter to his local Conservative association on Friday, Javid said that serving as an MP since 2010 and as a member of the government had been “the privilege” of his life.
“This decision will not mark the end of my parliamentary activity, particularly for the causes I care deeply about,” he said in a statement on Twitter. “Nor will it impact my duties as a local MP on behalf of constituents across Bromsgrove.”
Rishi Sunak, prime minister, said on Twitter that he was “sad to see my good friend @sajidjavid stepping back from politics”.
Conservative MPs have a deadline of December 5 to confirm to the party whether they plan to stand in the next election; some have suggested that more than 50 could leave parliament.
So far about a dozen Tory MPs have announced they will stand down, including former work and pensions secretary Chloe Smith, Dehenna Davison, a levelling up minister, and Chris Skidmore, a former science minister.
However, people close to Boris Johnson said the former prime minister was expected to stand at the next election in his constituency of Uxbridge.
Javid’s announcement came as Sunak suffered the first electoral defeat of his premiership after Labour retained Chester in Thursday’s parliamentary by-election.
Additional reporting by Owen Walker in London
After much reflection I have decided that I will not be standing again at the next General Election.
Serving as the Member of Parliament for Bromsgrove remains an incredible privilege, and I will continue to support the Government and the causes I believe in. pic.twitter.com/qskUo5jjOR
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) December 2, 2022
