INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
WASHINGTON: An official charged with overseeing how the US government handles $500 billion in bailout funds said on Friday he will also
monitor how companies use the cash, including for share buybacks, dividends and staff compensation.
Bharat Ramamurti, who was named this
month as a member of the Congressional Oversight Commission to regulate relief programs administered by the Federal Reserve, said one of his
restrictions on businesses and social gatherings to stem the coronavirus pandemic, Congress created a $500 billion Treasury fund that will
underpin up to $4.5 trillion of Fed loans to businesses, states and cities in need of financing.
This month, the Fed announced it was
offering up to $2.3 trillion initially through five different lending facilities.
Ramamurti has raised concerns about those programs,
arguing the Fed and Treasury should have required companies to submit to more restrictions in return for taxpayer-backed loans.
In a letter
received assistance through the programs
On Friday, the New York Fed said it would publicly disclose information, including participants and loan amounts, for its two corporate
lending facilities.
Ramamurti said that once he receives that data, he plans to request information from companies on how they have used the
funds, a pledge that could make life uncomfortable for some companies that may have used the cash to reward shareholders and management,
does not have the legal power to compel answers, but it is charged with producing regular reports on the lending programs and can call
people to testify before Congress
If necessary, Ramamurti said his panel could ask other oversight committees to use their subpoena power on its behalf.
On Friday,
Representative French Hill, a Republican, was the second person to be named to the five-member panel.
