WHEN: Today, Friday, January 15th
WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk Box"
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with BlackRock Chairman & CEO Laurence Fink on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6AM-9AM ET) today. Following are links to the video on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000480980, http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000480981 and http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000478030.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
FINK ON EARNINGS AND MISS
Flows are up 152 billion and yet our assets are unchanged for the year. So between FX and the decline in the equity markets last year, we were down $150 billion. So we kept flat, but we grew. We grew in revenues. The miss is all one-time expenses of some of the deals we did and compensation related to some of the deals we did. So they're one-time earnings, we identify that.
FINK ON THE DOLLAR
One other thing that was a huge difference between our '14 and '15 year was our tax rate – our tax rate was up 5 points. Now, one of that is because of the dollar. When you have a mix of business worldwide and your business is depreciated because of rising dollar, your mix actually shifts more to the U.S. and your tax rate goes up.
FINK ON CONSUMER SPENDING
We have to find out why consumers are not spending their energy savings. It's significant in all the years, when we've had these big declines, the consumers use that savings to spend and consume other things. We're not seeing that, we're seeing some consumption. My fear – and we've been talking about retirement in America – my fear is we're starting to – people coming to terms with what they have an inadequacy in their retirement. And mostly, as we shifted out of DB to DC, this is the first time where we have now Americans aging in a DC world not a DB world – defined contribution world – and they just have an inadequacy of savings.
FINK ON TECHNOLOGY AND ENERGY
I actually think technology is transforming the energy sector so rapidly. And I think we misjudge. And when I go to the Middle East, I do believe they also misjudged how technology is transforming the whole future of energy. The ability to discover energy is dramatically different than what it was ten years ago.
FINK ON HEAVY TRADE
When we test the markets lower it's going to be a pretty good buying opportunity.
Andrew Ross Sorkin: How much lower are we talking? What does capitulation look like?
Fink: Another ten percent from here, which is pretty nasty.
Becky Quick: Another ten percent?
Fink: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you could see that and you could see oil testing 25, 24. But my worry about oil prices today, I'm sure nine out ten of your guests talk about oil is going lower now so it's a very heavy trade.
FINK ON MARKETS
Having a market decline like this in the first couple of weeks of the year really, in my mind, puts a negativity across the economy. A negativity to every CEO who is looking at his or her stock price. A negativity related to business and the forward thinking about businesses. I actually believe you're going to start seeing more layoffs in the middle part of the first quarter, definitely the second quarter because of this. If we don't see some swift rebound – and as I said I think we're going to have probably more pain before we have that lift – but I do believe by the second half of the year the markets going to be higher.
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