Steven Mnuchin

A federal watchdog is looking into former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision to roll back the U.S. Federal Reserve’s emergency lending programs at the end of 2020, an issue that has become a point of partisan tension in Congress.

The agency that supervises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has pushed for revising an agreement with the Treasury Department allowing the mortgage giants to retain their profits. A deal could be out of reach once Joe Biden takes office.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called on the Federal Reserve Thursday to let several of its emergency lending facilities expire at yearend and return unused funds provided by Congress. But the central bank wants the programs to continue.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council said the mortgage giants may need a bigger capital cushion than their regulator has proposed, but stopped short of designating them as “systemically important financial institutions.”

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s search for a Treasury secretary is widely seen as focusing on Brainard, a choice that would keep both Wall Street and progressives in line.

Capping a series of appearances on Capitol Hill this week, the Federal Reserve chair and Treasury secretary emphasized that they don’t have the authority to reallocate CARES Act funds to assist small businesses on their own.

Commercial real estate companies are among those left out of the Federal Reserve’s middle-market relief program, but House members said they need government-backed financing to navigate the pandemic as much as anyone.

Many employers aren't enthusiastic about an executive action that allows workers to delay paying certain taxes until next year.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin did not define "small," but advocates have been urging Congress to convert all Paycheck Protection Program loans of less than $150,000 into grants.

The council created by the Dodd-Frank Act to identify systemic risks launched a review of the market as part of an activities-based approach that shifts focus away from targeting individual firms.

The Senate had passed the bill Tuesday, shortly before the Small Business Administration was to stop accepting new loan applications.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said about 300 lenders have signed on to the program and that the central bank is committed to making adjustments that could attract more borrowers.

Members of the Small Business Committee signaled backing for broadening Paycheck Protection Program access for the smallest companies, encouraging participation by nonbank lenders and other improvements.

The funds include $3.2 billion in loans that community development financial institutions had already approved during the PPP's second phase.

The funds include $3.2 billion in loans that community development financial institutions had already approved during the PPP's second phase.

Members of the Banking Committee pressed the Treasury secretary and Fed chief to ensure CARES Act funds are deployed as Congress intended. They also debated the need for more stimulus to ease the economic effects of the coronavirus.

A small Texas company that profits from loan applications is using a web address so similar to the Trump administration's portal for small businesses that even Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pitched the wrong one when outlining a pandemic-aid program.

The agency said Wednesday that as long as small businesses return funds they received through the Paycheck Protection Program, no action would be taken.

Treasury secretary says big firms that took PPP loans should apologize, not just return the money; German fintech’s shares drop 26% as audit fails to rebut accounting fraud allegations.

The Treasury secretary said recent government moves will help the firms get through the risk of millions of borrowers missing their loan payments.