Treasury Department

Janet Yellen was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the country's 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to hold the job, putting her in charge of overseeing an economy that continues to be hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Pricing parity is a big hit with lenders, but the MBA questions retaining certain limits on what Fannie and Freddie can purchase.

The FHFA and Treasury will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to hold more capital as part of the Trump administration's plans to release the companies from conservatorship. But it is unclear whether the incoming Biden administration will keep the mortgage giants on the same reform path.

The top Democrats on the House and Senate banking committees urged the Trump administration to pull the plug on any steps to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the pandemic still taking a toll on the economy.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has all but ruled out letting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exit U.S. control before he steps down, leaving it to the Biden administration to decide the fates of the mortgage giants.

Tuesday's hearing on the CARES Act was dominated by bickering over Treasury's decision to shut down the Fed's emergency lending facilities, drowning out pleas from some lawmakers for more aid.

The incoming administration chose a battle-tested policymaker who can draw on her nearly two decades at the Fed to help rebuild an economy still struggling from the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

U.S. government debt just logged its best week since August after the Treasury demanded the Fed return unused funds from emergency lending programs, a request the central bank said late Friday it would comply with. The development bolstered Wall Street predictions that the Fed will unveil more monetary action when it meets in mid-December.