Treasury Department

The Trump administration has compelled the Federal Reserve to shut down the Main Street Lending Program and other facilities that aid banks’ pandemic relief efforts, but President-elect Biden’s Treasury nominee could help turn the spigot back on.

The Structured Finance Association fears Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin may release the government-sponsored enterprises from conservatorship ahead of the change in administration, and that doing so could disrupt the mortgage-backed securities market.

Yellen, the former head of the Federal Reserve, would become the first woman to hold the nation’s top economic policy job just as the coronavirus pandemic threatens another downturn.

The move comes a day after the Federal Reserve had balked at the Treasury Department's demand that it return funds meant for pandemic relief that have so far gone unused.

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.

If Republicans keep their majority, the incoming administration will likely have to pick moderates over progressives to have any chance of getting its nominees approved.

A Democratic victory in Tuesday's election would likely produce new leaders at the CFPB and OCC who could take bank regulation in a sharply different direction. Here are some names potentially under consideration.

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.

More than $1 billion in coronavirus relief went to small businesses that received multiple loans and a congressional subcommittee analyzing the Paycheck Protection Program says it has seen evidence of fraud in thousands more loans.

Many commercial property owners are locked out of existing coronavirus relief by financing terms that bar them from taking new loans. Under a House bill, they would receive government-backed equity investments.