Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO), the manager of world's largest bond fund, has raised more than $1.5 billion for a new fund to buy assets from banks looking to strengthen their balance sheets, Bloomberg said, citing two people with knowledge of the fundraising.

The PIMCO Bravo fund -- short for Bank Recapitalization and Value Opportunities -- will buy debt such as troubled commercial and residential mortgages and may invest directly in banks through securities including warrants and convertible debt, the people told the agency.

PIMCO is still accepting investments in the fund and expects to raise between $2 billion and $3 billion in total before a final close later this year, an investor briefed on the plans told Bloomberg.

A spokesman for PIMCO declined to comment to Bloomberg. The firm was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by David Holmes)

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