Ian McKendry

Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin struck a pro-banking industry tone during testimony on Capitol Hill Thursday while tangling with lawmakers over foreclosures, offshore accounts and other issues.

Steven Mnuchin's time as OneWest CEO is expected to draw ample attention at his nomination hearing, but it will not be the only issue to come up as senators try to gauge how he would lead President-elect Trump's financial policies.

Treasury Secretary-designate Seven Mnuchin will divest himself of his investments and interests in a number of companies and funds once confirmed, including a fund that has bet on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being recapitalized and released from government control.

The House Financial Services Committee will see a shuffling of deck chairs among the leadership of its subcommittees in the new Congress as it also welcomes 10 new Republican members.

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Jan. 12 on the nomination of Dr. Ben Carson as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

President-elect Donald Trump's choice of well-known Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to head the Securities and Exchange Commission was a relatively safe move that suggests his other financial appointments may be equally conservative, industry observers said.

The Senate Banking Committee will have six fresh faces in the new Congress as Republicans grapple with a slimmer majority.

The new year is shaping up to be the one in which sizable changes to the Dodd-Frank Act are finally enacted, thanks to Republican victories in the White House, Senate and House.

Although Steven Mnuchin has close ties to Wall Street and was involved in some contentious deals, Democrats face an uphill battle making the case that those connections disqualify him to serve as Treasury secretary.

A bipartisan duo of House lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would push Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in more credit risk-sharing transactions.