Treasury Department nominee offers clues on financial industry priorities

Janet Yellen, the Biden administration’s Treasury Secretary nominee and former chair of the Federal Reserve, outlined some key financial industry priorities in a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Why should we care?
Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee that she plans to create a dedicated unit within Treasury to review climate change risks to banks and financial companies. In response to a question from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Yellen noted that it was also important to study the impacts of climate change on the real estate market. She voiced support for tougher anti-money laundering measures, including a recent effort by Congress to enact a measure as part of a recent defense spending bill that requires companies to disclose their true owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network when going through the incorporation process. The Treasury nominee also expressed concerns about the risks of cryptocurrencies, particularly their use as a conduit for illegal activities. To that end, she suggested that cryptocurrency use for money laundering and terror financing needs to be more carefully probed.